


Strength of the Wounded 2017

by arjasmo



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Doctor Whump, Eventual Romance, F/M, Medical Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2018-12-27 19:24:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12087726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arjasmo/pseuds/arjasmo
Summary: There has been an explosion in the TARDIS and the Doctor is gravely injured. Rose must find a way to save his life and hers too. To make matters worse, an intruder enters the wounded ship. Now Rose is in the fight for her life and the Doctor's while trying to save her beloved ship from incalculable damage.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Recently I've found myself reexamining my older works. As with the others, I think this one has great ideas, but in my fan fic infancy I put it out too fast and didn't fill in all the blanks. Now that I am entering my toddlerdom I think that revisiting some of my favorites and giving them new life is worth the time. Sometimes I'm impressed with my writing from years ago and sometimes I want to pound my head against the wall. I hope you like this one. It is completed and I will post frequently, with most likely pretty big chapters.

“Rose, I need you to put the box down slowly and move away as quickly as you can,” his voice was even yet his reeked of urgency. 

“What’s going on, Doctor?” asked Rose, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable about the little box she held. Carefully she set it on top of the console. 

The Doctor motioned for them both to step back, but his eyes never left the box. “Apparently not everyone in that town was happy with my return. That woman gave you a…” 

Just then the box began to shake. The Doctor moved like a shot, grabbing Rose with unbelievable force, shoving her down the ramp and towards the nearest hall. 

Still on the grating himself, he glanced over at the box. As he did, it stopped shaking, only to begin to collapse upon itself as if being sucked down a drain. It ended stopped a mere second later, the size of a small gumball. He knew what was coming only had a chance to take a step back, eyes still glued to it. The box had seemed to suck the environment from the room, there was no absolutely no sound, no air to breathe. An agonizing half second later came the ear-splitting explosion with a blinding, burning flash, and then nothing. 

*****10 hours earlier*****

Rose leaned against the console of the TARDIS and let out a long breath. It had been a rough couple of days. The Doctor was busy with the controls but as her eyes followed him, it was clear that he was just as worn out as she was. His normally bright skin had lost its glow somewhat, and he had dark circles under his eyes. His usual dance around the console was slower, more deliberate. His flourishing movements were not there. Lastly, his hair was not his usually stylish messy and sticking up everywhere, but was more bedraggled and limp. His hair was the perfect metaphor for their collective current state. 

"Doctor?" she asked after watching him for a minute. He looked up at her anxiously over his glasses giving her a slight smile. 

"Rose?" he answered.

"I think we need a vacation." 

"I agree." He returned to what he was doing for a moment, deep in thought. Rose waited patiently, knowing that this had not been the end of the conversation. She could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. After a few long moments, he looked up with a great big grin on his face, "I know the perfect place!"

Rose pushed off the console and held up her hands to him. "Hold on a sec Doctor, before we go anywhere, promise me something." 

"Anything Rose,” he answered innocently.

"No danger." She crossed her arms over her chest, indicating that the matter was not up to discussion. 

"What fun is there without a bit of danger?" He stepped up to her, nearly touching but not quite, a pout securely on his face. 

"Just promise me?" She had to look up to see him properly. 

"Fine, I promise, but don't complain to me if you get bored!" he replied, a grin replacing the pout and his eyes shining brightly.

"I won't.” Rose looped her arms around him and he did the same, pulling her into a hug. 

The hug was not as long as Rose would have like though for a second later he let her go with a deep breath. And took her arm’s length. "Now, it will take a bit to get there so why don't you pop of for a shower and a kip and I’ll come get you when we arrive."

"That sounds amazing, but what should I wear?"

"Oh not to worry I'll take care of that." 

With that, Rose shook her head and made her way to her room. Leaving the clothing selection up to him was always a bit of a dodgy process. Sometimes he was right on, others not so much. 

As she trudged down the hall is occurred to her just how tired she really was. As soon as she reached her room all thoughts of a shower had evaporated and all she could think of was covering herself in her fluffy duvet and sinking into bed. Realistically, by the time she made it across the room, all she could do was flop on top of it before sleep took her. 

 

OoOoO

Sometime later the Doctor, who had been elbow deep under the console doing some maintenance that was not critical for flight, shouted, "Done!" Looking up, he found that he was alone in the console room. Rose hadn’t come back yet. It was a little odd feeling, since they had been recently been spending a lot of time together. Even the down time. She even had been helping with repairs, well more like handing him things and letting him babble on about this and that. But now she was sleeping, that with bathroom time, where the only times they were truly separated. And he found that he liked it… a lot. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he found himself walking toward her bedroom. He knocked on the door lightly but when he didn't hear a reply, quietly let himself in. He took a quick look around and found her fast asleep on her bright pink comforter. She was curled in a tight ball as if cold. Ever so quietly he advanced and gently pulled the duvet over her. She was still in the clothes that she had been before so he figured she must have just laid on the bed and fallen immediately to sleep. He pulled the covers up, careful to tuck them just under her chin. As soon as he did so Rose seemed to settle a little deeper into the mattress, getting just a bit more comfortable, letting out a small sigh without waking up. He smiled drinking in peaceful she looked. No more worry played on her features as was often the case when they were out saving the universe. He knew he had put her through a lot over the last couple of days and seeing her so relaxed calmed his hearts. 

He watched her silently for a few moments, just enjoying her tranquility, before it occurred to him that perhaps she wouldn’t appreciate waking to him staring at her. Then he thought about how long it had been since she had last eaten, 5 hours by his account. That just wouldn’t do. He pulled himself away her sleeping form and headed to the galley to whip up something to eat. 

Over all his years, he had learned to make literally hundreds of different foods and the TARDIS supplied a wide variety of ingredients for anything he wanted. But he where Rose’s allegiances lay. Chips and finger sandwiches were her hands down favorites when he was cooking, so he decided to go with that. It did, however, occur to him that perhaps she chose that to avoid him getting into something more complicated and ultimately more dangerous. 

When the food was done the Doctor arraigned it on a nice little tray complete with a little bottle of malt vinegar and brought it to her room. He had intended on just leaving it by her bedside to avoid the whole waking up to him staring at her thing, but just as he was setting down the tray, the fork slid off the plate and hit the bed frame with a “TING!” He cringed, hoping that it wasn't enough to wake her. Sadly, he saw her stirring next to him. It took her a second but Rose sat up and stretched, inhaling deeply through her nose, smelling the food, her stomach rumbling as she did so. She ran her fingers through her gnarly hair and made a very unattractive noise with her mouth, all without looking around. 

The Doctor stood there awkwardly; fully aware that she had no idea of his presence. After a minute she opened her eyes and they took a second to focus. When they did she saw him standing there and her now open eyes widened and her face turned bright red. 

"Hello there,” he said with a grin that was just holding back his laughter. 

"Doctor oh geez…” Rose tried before he interrupted her.

"I didn't mean to wake you; I just thought you might be a bit hungry." 

She sniffed again. "Mmmmm it smells good, I'm famished!" 

"Oh good, I made you finger sandwiches and chips!" He flopped down next to her, pulling over the tray and setting it in between them. He adjusted himself to sit facing her. 

Rose smiled. “I love a good bed picnic.”

The Doctor plucked a chip from the rather large pile and popped it into his mouth. “Who wouldn’t like one?”

The Doctor kept her entertained while she ate; stealing a few more chips along the way. When she finished her last bite and set down her napkin, he bounced a little on the bed to get her attention. "Are you ready to go now?" 

Rose regarded at him for a moment, "I still haven't taken a shower." 

"What is it with you humans and your hygiene?" he asked with mock disgust in his voice. 

"I will only be a minute! And anyway I don't see any clothes for me to change into."

"Blimey! I almost forgot. You get in the shower and I’ll go find you some clothes,” he said without moving towards the door. 

"I'm not getting out of bed until you leave! Off you pop!" she said as she pushed him away from the bed with her feet. "Oi! You get out now!" 

"You don't have to be so rude!" he stuck out his tongue at her and she chucked a small heart shaped pillow at him. It hit him squarely in the chest. He hugged it briefly and lobbed it back onto her lap. He then hopped a little, picked up the tray, spun around and practically skipped out the door, headed towards the wardrobe room to find her an outfit suitable for their trip. 

OoOoOo  
In the wardrobe room the Doctor picked through the clothes on the racks. So many of the hangers brought memories, the dress Rose wore in Cardiff on their second excursion, some of his former outfits, some of his former companion’s clothing. Some of them left him grinning, some not so much. But they all were a part of him in one way or another. After a while though he had to tear himself away, as one could get lost in there, especially if the memories got overwhelming, which they threatened to do. He had a job to do. He closed his eyes for a second, clearing the images swirling in his head. Then he stepped to another rack, one with feminine clothing, most of which had never been touched. 

He slid the hangers from left to right, evaluating each outfit. Then finally he found one. "This should do," he said to himself as he grabbed it off the rack. 

This time when he got to her room he made sure to knock so that he didn't make things awkward. She didn’t respond after a few moments so he eased the door open and poked his head in. He couldn't help but laugh when he heard her singing in the shower. Taking that as a chance to go in, he hustled over to her bed and laid out the clothes, arranging them nicely, then he retreated to the console room.  
OoOoOo  
Rose walked out of the shower wrapped in a towel and peeked into her room to be sure the Doctor wasn’t waiting for her. He had a habit of being rather clueless when it came to personal boundaries. She took a minute to survey herself in the mirror. The last adventure on the sanctuary base had left her a little beat up but mostly the bruises and such were under her clothes. The Doctor always offered to use his dermal regenerator on her and she had allowed him use it a few times, but generally she chose not to make her injuries an issue. She liked to take care of her wounds on her own, mostly because he made such a fuss when she was injured and looked so guilty. He would apologize so profusely it made her nervous. Besides, everything seemed to be coming along nicely it was easy to ignore the marks and such.  
She hummed to herself as she stepped into her bedroom. There she found that he had set the clothes out for her nicely on her bed. They looked “gypsyesque” in nature. They were made with iridescent material with little ornaments meant to make tinkling sounds when she walked. The top was much like that of a bikini with fringe on the bottom to show off her abdomen. The pants were slim fitting at the waist but loosened as they extended to her ankles. The iridescent fabric was on top of various earth tone colored fabrics so that the outfit wasn’t entirely see-through. After putting on the ensemble, Rose turned to admire herself in the mirror. “Thank God I said no to those desserts yesterday,” she said aloud to herself with a laugh. While looking at the mirror, she saw a pair of simple, beautiful sandals lying next to her bed that she hadn’t noticed before. “Oh he’s good,” she said with admiration.  
She tiptoed into the console room in an effort to sneak up on the Doctor, but was betrayed by her tinkling attire. “Oh there you are!” the Doctor said, his eyes lighting up and a smile spreading across his face. “You look marvelous!” he breathed as he reached out and grabbed her hands in front of him, holding her gaze and unknowingly making her breathless. His eyes drifted to her left shoulder, where peeking out of the top was a big scab over a gash that previously had been hidden under her t-shirts. He looked back into her eyes, the question evident on his face. “What…?” he began, initially reaching out to touch it then slowly pulling his hand back.  
“Oh I must have gotten that on the sanctuary base. There was a lot of running around and crashing into things.”  
“I didn’t know you got wounded.”  
“I get wounded all the time, it’s no big deal.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Doctor, it’s really nothing. I mean REALLY it’s nothing.” His eyes were so sad and she felt the urge to continue. “They’re not wounds so much as badges of honor; they mean we’re fighting a good fight. There are going to be some scars.”

His eyes hadn’t left hers, and were deep and soft. He frowned. “Rose, I bring you along on this grand adventure so you can see everything; I never wanted you to be hurt or scared. If something was to happen to you I…I…”

“Doctor, please, I am here voluntarily. I love travelling with you and wouldn’t trade it for the world. Things are bound to happen but that only adds to it. You have to know that.” She smiled sincerely at him and he bowed his head then looked back up to her grinning slightly. It seemed as though he accepted her argument, at least for now. He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheeks. Rose couldn’t move, she was frozen in space, the space that they both so closely occupied. 

The TARDIS made its signature wheezing noise, breaking the moment. Next came a sizable jolt as they hit the ground, signaling their arrival. “Oh. we’ve arrived!” he exclaimed as he dropped her hands unceremoniously and went to the coral pillar to grab his jacket, then thought again and left it where it was. Rose sat down hard on the jump seat letting out a breath. 

“You coming then?” he asked glancing over his shoulder, clearly not noticing the effect he had on her. 

It took a moment but Rose slowly gathered herself and got up. “Wouldn’t miss it!” she replied, trying to shake off the feeling of him being so close and wanting it to continue. But he was already out the doors so she jogged to catch up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is chapter 2 today. It marks the end of the fluff and the beginning of the "good stuff". Of course this is my opinion. I love angst and trauma. It's a problem. I hope you enjoy it.

The Doctor had stopped just outside the doors. When she joined him, he took her arm and started off. “Oh Rose, you will love this place. It’s a lovely little town and the people are well… lovely!” He beamed at her. “Oh and they have this drink called Fizzamon. It’s a fizzy soda like drink that is sort of spicy and tastes of cinnamon and all kinds of spices. It fizzes all the way down too. Hence the epic burping contests that ensue.” 

They were in an orchard surrounded by trees with huge pink blooms. Rose took a deep breath of the sweet breeze they created. She looked up and gasped. The pink flowers formed a canopy over the whole area and the sun peeked through in little specks. “Oh, they look like cotton candy!” Rose breathed, hugging his arm a little tighter.

“The puffy pink blossoms of the Protunga tree,” the Doctor answered, popping each “P” in turn. “The fruit will be ripe in a few months. It tastes just like pink lemonade. Be careful though, it causes quite the tummy ache if you eat more than twenty. Then the aftermath can be truly scary.”

“Like death?” she asked.

“Well…diarrhea, so yes kinda like death.” He beamed at her.

“So you speak from experience?” she asked chuckling.

“Ah…erm…let’s just say it’s best not discussed in polite company.”

“I’m polite company?”

“Very polite!” he said, bumping her lightly with his hip.

“Ok,” Rose said after a pause, “I know there is a history lesson here somewhere. There always is, so let’s get started.”

“Are you telling me that you don’t like my history lessons?” He looked at her with fake affront on his face.

“No, I actually really like them!” He gave her am unconvinced look. “No Doctor, I really do, I just know that they are inevitable and if I want to get to the fizzy drink part of my afternoon I better let you start!”

“Thank you... I think.” He smirked. “Ok well… Welcome to the Planet of Sawoof. Right now we are on the continent of Nar and in the country of Narwid. We are entering the town of Humeria, nestled in the valley below us.” They had just started a noticeable decline in the path. Not quite enough for there to be stairs, but almost. “This orchard is only a few years old. Each tree was planted in memory of someone lost in their civil war.”

“Oh that’s sad,” she replied, looking around and taking in just how many trees there were.

“Yeah, this region was embroiled in a brutal civil war for over a hundred years. This valley was the scene of some of the worst atrocities too. There was a blockade here so the people were starving.” As he spoke the tree canopy cleared to reveal a gorgeous valley surrounded by high, snowcapped craggy mountains.

“It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed

“Yes it is, but as you can see, only one way in and one way out. Because of all the mountains there was a thriving mining industry. This town supplied all the raw materials for ammunition production in the region. All the enemy had to do was block the roads, starve the populous and then in turn the troops soon didn’t have the ammunition.”

“So you were here then?”

“Yes, it was technically me, but with another face. I came to… to help.”

“You helped the people?” She slowed a little so she could get a better look at him. It didn’t help, his face was expressionless, his eyes looking far away to something that wasn’t there. 

After a few moments he replied, “Yes, a bit, just helped out.”

“Yeah, you said that already.” Rose got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t going to get more out of him. So, she pressed on, “But is it safe? You told me you would take me somewhere safe. Is the war over?”

“Oh yeah!” he exclaimed, a new smile forming on his face, bringing his eyes back to her. “There are still a few pockets of resistance in the southern areas, but most of the rebel factions have been thwarted. “

“A hundred years is a really long war. What were they fighting over?”

“That’s just it; it started with two brothers fighting over who would control the family farm animals.”

“Really, a hundred year war over cows?” she laughed.

The Doctor chuckled too but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well this planet’s equivalent of cows, yes. I really think that after a while the two sides forgot what they were fighting over. When one side got the upper hand, the other side turned to guerilla warfare. It got quite ugly for a while. The country, well this half of the planet, may never totally recover. It was so messy, it sloshed into other regions. There was tremendous damage to both sides.”

He sped up a little, bringing her along with him. After a minute he continued, “The people here are wonderful and generous…mildly telepathic too. I think that’s why they liked me so much.”

“Yeah because you have such a wonderful personality…” she trailed off. The Doctor was suddenly pushing her behind him and taking a defensive posture. She couldn’t see beyond him, but could hear fast approaching footsteps. Lots of them. She got a lump in the pit of her stomach but tried to peer out from behind the Doctor.

Within a minute they had been inundated. Before the Doctor stood about 50 or so people Rose assumed were villagers. They were all short in stature; the tallest among them was about 4 and a half feet tall. The all wore light flowy pants and skirts and brightly colored tops. Some of the women were dressed like Rose. They all wore a similar expression; one of mild confusion and interest. It occurred to Rose that is was the expression that you had when you thought you recognized someone but weren’t sure it was really them. A man stepped to the front of the crowd. He was among the tallest, with a big bushy mustache and little round glasses perched on his nose. He was dressed like the others, but his outfit included a bright yellow suit vest and a long purple coat.

The Doctor spoke first, “Agumon?” The man froze, then leaned forward a bit eyes squinting at the Doctor. He lifted his hand and held his arm out straight, fingers extended. The Doctor did the same and touched finger tips with the man. A smile slowly spread across Agumon’s face.

“Doctor? It IS you. Doctor! Our Savior! You have returned!” He spun around to face the townspeople. “It’s him! The Doctor has returned. He is the same man, just in a different face. Rejoice! We shall celebrate!” The crowd surged forward happily whooping and laughing. They all reached out to touch the Doctor in turn, each with a warm smile. Some of the older women touched the Doctor then began openly weeping, yet smiling at the same time.

Rose stood, now rather alone, at the back of the group, her mouth agape. She was used to people reacting both positively and negatively to the Doctor. She had never seen such a large group of admirers. She felt a little proud, a teeny bit jealous, but more than anything, curious. He never talked about all the amazing things he did. Sometimes it felt like she was travelling with her best friend, and other times like he was a complete stranger. She reveled in this thought for a few moments when she heard, “Rose, ROSE!!! Keep up!” The crowd was moving towards the village, the Doctor swept up among them. He managed to get himself near the edge of mass of people and was reaching out for her. He finally was able to reach her hand and pulled her in close to him. “I don’t want to lose you in the fray. Stay close,” he said quietly just to her. 

Rose leaned in close to his ear. Above the hubbub, amongst all the confusion she had so many questions. So many thoughts rattled around in her head. She drew several breaths and started to speak multiple times, but wasn’t sure where to start. She finally came up with the most intelligent thing she could, given the circumstances. “Explain,” was all she could mutter.

“Well I helped them…Like I said.”

“Doctor, helping someone usually means something like unclogging a drain or shoveling snow. They are calling you their savior.”

“I suppose different cultures have different meanings for the word savior. Here I’m guessing it means someone who saved them. Not like you would save someone from drowning in a frozen river, because I am not that strong of a swimmer and there were an awful lot of them.”

“Focus,” said Rose, elbowing him lightly.

“Oh yeah, so I helped them,” he looked at her sideways “I kind of broke up the blockade and stuff, and encouraged the rebels to leave.”

“That’s kinda big stuff Doctor.”

“I suppose it is, at least to them.” He had that faraway look on his face again, but only for a moment before they were swept up again.

 

Rose had a very strong impression that there was more to this story, something that happened that he wasn’t ready to share. But that was the case most of the time. She usually only got the highlights. He wouldn’t even tell her when pressed. That was the way it was. No matter how long she spent with the Time Lord, she only would only know part of him.   
OoOoOo  
The crowd led them to the edge of town, where they were joined by even more people. Rose had no trouble seeing above the townspeople to take in her surroundings. Surveying the scene, she felt a pang of sadness as most of the homes and buildings in town looked war torn. Many were crumbled or held up with make shift patchwork. Some giant craters remained in the ground with obvious scorch marks around them. Some of the homes were reduced to rubble and it looked like no one had bothered to rebuild them. There was evidence of raging fires and explosions. It was difficult to figure out what was old or new damage. The people seemed to ignore the rubble and delightedly danced around the holes as they walked down the roads. Up ahead she could see that the group was approaching an open-air market in the town square.

The buildings near the square were different; there were bright wall hangings draping them with flags as well as colorful shop fronts and flowers planted in various size pots and hanging from window boxes. The little shops were all over the square. They offered all sorts of bright clothing, blankets, flowers and trinkets. Rose wanted to stop at each one, but the crowd urged them to the center of the square were a group of important looking men stood, smiling.

The Doctor approached the men and there was a flurry of hugs, hand shaking and fast talking. Rose took a moment to turn look around more. She identified a few shops she was definitely heading to when she had a moment. Something caught her eye in a nearby alleyway. A small woman, seemingly smaller than the other women, lurked in a shadow. When she saw Rose she stepped into the light and grinned broadly. She waved at Rose with small but misshapen fingers. Rose tried to get a better look, but the crowd was still tightly packed around her. 

Despite being so small, the woman carried an air of confidence and pride. Rose could only imagine what this woman’s life had been like. She must have grown up and only known war. Rose felt a wave of sympathy for her and grinned back at the woman and waved a little. She then heard the Doctor calling for her, and turned briefly to tell him to hold on a tick, when she turned back the woman was gone.

The Doctor was deep in conversation with the group of old men but looked up as she approached. "Rose, Agumon and the others want to talk a bit." He reached into his pocket and pulled out multiple bills of what she assumed was a local currency and handed them to her. "It's safe for you here, look around; I'll meet up with you soon." She gave him a look but he had already turned around and was back in conversation with the men. She sighed, took a breath and forged ahead.

She walked into the market area a little slow at first, not sure how she felt about exploring a new planet without her favorite exploring buddy. Soon though, she found herself enjoying her time. The market had heaps of great trinkets for sale. The market itself was a sight to be seen. Everything was brightly colored and sparkly. She laughed to herself thinking how her mum would have loved it here. Oh and the smells! She breathed in deeply. There was cinnamon like the Doctor had mentioned, but something spicy and also herbal. A lot of the booths seemed to be selling herbal remedies, salves and teas. She poked around and got some lip salve that tasted like bananas and some wonderful lotion that the shop keeper swore would both soothe and repair damage within a week. This struck her as a little funny, given her current occupation. She figured she could try it on her shoulder wound once it had healed, since the Doctor had made such a fuss. She had a few more places on her body to put it as well that she had chosen not to share with him.

She wandered over to the textile area and was amazed at the lightweight but strong nature of the fabrics. The colors were dazzling too. It was hard to decide what she wanted. Visions of all kinds of projects she could start danced in her head. She did have downtime now and again, usually while the Doctor was buried under the console making repairs or when she had had enough of him and wanted a break. She finally picked up some beautiful purple and green fabric that reflected a shimmering light in the sun. She was hoping to turn it into a bag, or a skirt, heck maybe both.

The people were very kind to her throughout the market. It was a little unnerving though that they all wanted to touch her. The older generation took her hand and thanked her. This was as little awkward because she didn't know what really happened and she certainly had no hand in it. The younger people patted her on the shoulders or shook her hand. As she was leaning over a table of beautiful and intricate earrings she felt a tug on her pant leg. She looked up to see a very old man standing next to her; he took her hand in his and bowed his head. Surprisingly this did not feel weird, but made her a little dizzy. He repeatedly bowed and it looked as if he may be meditating but he didn't make a sound. She started to feel a little weird after he didn't let go after a few minutes. It was then when she felt another hand on her shoulder and someone lean in close, "They get their telepathy through touching, like I do," whispered a familiar voice in her ear.

"Hi!” she said, as the old man moved over to hold the Doctors hand. "What exactly is he doing?”

“He's showing gratitude. You’ve noticed that they don't talk much here, except maybe to you. They talk to each other by touching, but with you they have to speak."

"Great. Way to make me feel like a weak brained human.” Rose huffed.

"Nah... Intelligence has nothing to do with it. They were born that way."

Soon the old man grinned at the Doctor, let go of his hand and backed away. Rose raised her eyebrows at the Doctor; he smiled, took her hand and led her to the food area. "He seemed to have a lot to say," she said, voice low as they passed another group of smiling locals.

"He was telling me his version of the story. He lost his wife and daughter during the blockade. His son just barely lived, but is now a father himself. "

"Oh how sad!"

“They are a resilient people Rose. He still mourns his wife and daughter, but is proud of his son and loves his grandkids. He has lived his life; he was a teacher before the war and then learned how to make weapons and became an accomplished gunsmith."

"Wow that was quite the conversation you had."

"Yeah," he replied, almost a whisper, this head down. She thought she detected his adams apple bobbing and then a quiet sniffle. She let him be in his head space for a bit while they walked.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, seemingly out of the blue, making Rose jump a little. He squeezed her hand. "Here we are Rose the universe's most famous fizzy drink. Well the planet's or..." He rubbed his neck, "ok it's mostly a regional thing."

The Fizzamon was just as the Doctor described. It fizzed all the way down and she couldn't help but burp. She blushed and uttered, "s'cuse me."

"By all means Rose, enjoy it! It’s local custom." He grinned brilliantly at her. 

The Doctor took her arm again and they strolled back towards the center square, burping and giggling. The daylight was fading and they could hear music starting up and the sound of voices and cheering. They were moving towards the main square. When they got closer, they could see that it was lit with colorful lamps hanging all around. 

Rose could also see the townspeople holding hands and dancing in rotating circles. "Gotta love a traditional dance Rose," the Doctor chirped, beaming at her. They watched for a few minutes, until the townspeople noticed the Doctor standing there. One of the dancing circles broke their line and approached, the end person grabbing his hand and dragging him into the dance. He looked back at her smiling apologetically.

"Just go!" she yelled after him, matching his grin and watching the people pull him into the dance. He stood feet above them, but no one seemed to mind. He whirled and twirled amongst them like he had been doing it for years. 

The music surrounding them didn’t end like in the dances she knew, it kept going, with musicians being replaced by others with no end in sight. Rose didn’t mind at all. She could see that Doctor’s expression as he was pulled along. Every new person that touched him was telling him a story, and he was soaking it up. 

Rose found a comfy perch and watched the activity. People brought her small spicy meat sandwiches and more Fizzimon, each with a smile. Despite being essentially abandoned by her companion, Rose was thoroughly enjoying herself. She watched him dance among the townspeople laughing and carrying on. He frequently looked over to her and she would hold up her soda and toast him or wave and smile. He would wave back mouthing "I'm sorry," then be pulled back into the scrum.

The dance went on into the night. Rose never got bored but after some time she became tired and had to suppress her yawns. She leaned back into her seat and let the music surround her. She found her eyelids drooping. It had been a long day. Then she felt a gentle touch on her cheek. "Hey there sleepy head," crooned the Doctor, "wanna head home?"

"Hey," she yawned, "how did you break free?"

"Oh I told them my companion was a lightweight and I needed to see to her."

"Lightweight huh?" she asked, lightly punched his shoulder.

"Shall we, Dame Rose?” He offered his arm.

"Why, thank you Sir Doctor." She took his arm and hopped off her seat.

“Doctor,” she started shyly, after they had walked out of the main area of the square,” these people love you. What you did for them, it must have been magnificent. “

“Oh…” he replied softly,” Well anyone has the chance to be magnificent Rose, you just need the right set of circumstances.”

Just then a man came and tapped the Doctor on the arm. He turned and had a brief exchange with him but Rose was too tired to focus. He turned back to her and gave her a gentle nudge towards the TARDIS. “Keep going, I’ll be right behind you.” He gave her a sincere smile and then turned to deal with the man. Rose smiled. It was rare that he was so attentive to so many people. She didn’t mind sharing him for a time. He deserved it. She kept up her pace, knowing that he would join her shortly.

Rose continued on back towards the TARDIS. She had gone a few meters when she heard a noise behind her, turning to see the old lady she had seen in the alleyway earlier. Rose bent over with a smile to look at the woman in the eye. The lady reached out and took her hand, pressing a small box into it. “Oh no, I couldn’t,” said Rose trying to give the box back.

“This is from our people, for all that the Doctor has done for us,” the old woman said, her voice raspy but quiet.

“Thank you!” Rose took the box and slipped it into her pocket. The lady gave her a smile and bowed a little. 

“Come on Rose!” the Doctor was reaching for her other hand to guide her back with him. Rose turned to go with him, turned back to thank the old lady again but she has melted into the crowd.

“Where to now?” he asked, letting her hand go to open the TARDIS. He continued, “I was thinking somewhere futuristic and Earthlike. We can go to Abrea in the year 7000. They have hovercrafts and make a mean chip! Oh, and there are some wonderful things happening in London in the year-”

“Oh Doctor, I almost forgot!” she interrupted him, “there was a sweet old lady and she gave me a present for you.” She pulled the box out of her pocket.

“Really? What is it?” he said, eyes fixed on the console, fingers working furiously to set a new course.

“I’m not sure, it’s just some sort of box thing. I’m, not sure what it does.”

“That doesn’t really narrow it down, Rose.” He looked up and saw box for the first time. As soon as he saw it he went pale and his face tightened.

“Rose, I need you to put the box down slowly and move away as quickly as you can,” his voice was even yet it reeked of urgency. 

 

“What’s going on, Doctor?” asked Rose, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable about the little box she held. Carefully she set it on top of the console. 

 

The Doctor motioned for them both to step back, but his eyes never left the box. “Apparently not everyone in that town was happy with my return. That woman gave you a…” 

Just then the box began to shake. The Doctor moved like a shot, grabbing Rose with unbelievable force, shoving her down the ramp and towards the nearest hall. 

Still on the grating himself, he glanced over at the box. As he did, it stopped shaking, only to begin to collapse upon itself as if being sucked down a drain. It ended stopped a mere second later, the size of a small gumball. He knew what was coming only had a chance to take a step back, eyes still glued to it. The box had seemed to suck the environment from the room, there was no absolutely no sound, no air to breathe. An agonizing half second later came the ear-splitting explosion with a blinding, burning flash, and then nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So on we go! Here is the continuation. Things are bad this chapter but hang in there, we'll get our Doctor back soon.

Rose woke with a start. As soon as she opened her eyes she began to panic. Where was she? How did she get here? Where did all of this smoke come from? And most importantly, where was the Doctor? Slowly images started coming back. The explosion. He had pushed her away. He pushed her to safety. 

The explosion had slammed her down hard. As if in slow motion she moved each limb to see what hurt or what wouldn’t move. Everything seemed to be attached but very, very sore. She moved her head and suddenly everything was spinning. She wretched a few times from the smoke and pain, but nothing came up. Each wretch though, shook her to her core. Nothing seemed broken, but her whole body was screaming.

Rose tried to stand, only to find that her head started to pound heavily, and she dropped back to her knees. She needed to find him though. She needed to move. Slowly she moved each limb, fighting against the pain that each movement made. Soon found herself crawling, and as she inched forward, the pain subsided some. Also the smoke was thinner down low, making it easier to draw a breath. Only after a few deep breaths did she realize just how much the smoke hurt her lungs before.

Another thing she realized as she crawled along was that she didn’t exactly know where she was going. The walls in the hall were white, and there was little light now. There was no way to tell how far she had been blown by the blast or where the console room was. 

She closed her eyes and kept on, praying that it was in the right direction. Then under her hand she could feel the unmistakable roughness of the grating leading to the console. She would have yelped in celebration, but as expected, the smoke was even worse in there. Rose quickly found herself coughing and blinded by the stinging fumes. But she knew the way, she had taken it hundreds of times, so she pushed ahead to the console. That was going to be the best place to start looking for the Doctor. 

Just before she had reached the console, she felt something warm and squishy under her hand. “What the,” was all she got out before she heard the slightest of groans just ahead of her. “Oh Gods, Doctor!” she said, relief flooding through her words. This faded immediately as she realized that the warmness she had felt before was his blood. She reached out and felt him and scrambled the last of the distance to him. 

“Doctor, can you hear me?” There was no answer. She shook him. “Doctor?” He let out a low groan, but didn’t open his eyes. Rose held him close for a second just happy to hear him respond. “I’m going to help you, just please don’t die on me,” Rose said, blinking away tears, which fell onto his face. She went to wipe them when the Doctor shook slightly, his eyes fluttering. 

Rose leaned in even closer and his lips moved but his eyes stayed shut. He was trying to say something. She put her head right by his lips and he tried again. The word floated into her ear as faintly as she could have imagined. Just one word, “Medbay,” then he fell silent. 

OoOoOoOo  
The Medbay was familiar enough to Rose, they had both spent time there healing various wounds and things after adventures. But the thought of getting him there was daunting. He was bigger than her and now a dead weight. He had only seen him injured a few times and those were minor. Even he regenerated he hadn’t looked bad. 

Yet here he was, in her arms, totally helpless. Without her there was no hope. He needed her now more than ever before. She had to find a way to do it. There was no question. 

Rose set him down gently and struggled to her feet, the smoke choking her even more. It took a moment to get her feet set then she hooked her arms under his armpits and pulled. At first, he didn’t budge. Again, she tried, her eyes and lungs screaming at the assault of the acrid smoke. Then painfully slowly she got some movement, inches at first. But after a few steps back she started to drag him away from the console and into the hallway.

The TARDIS must have figured out was happening because she didn’t drag him too far into the hallway until she came to the medbay doorway. “Thank you,” she whispered at the ceiling as she dragged the Doctor over to the bed on the other side of the room. The bed was all the way down, another little helpful element she attributed to the TARDIS. But still it was a little over a meter up from the floor. 

With a sigh, she pulled him as close as she could and stepped onto the bed herself. Then with all her might, gave a pull, jerking his body onto the bed, landing hard on top of her. She let out an “Ooof!” then a “Sorry!”, both of which fell on deaf ears. Next, she wiggled out from under him, unfortunately in doing so, he hit the bed pretty hard. “Sorry!” she squealed again, knowing that he couldn’t hear her but feeling that she had to say something. 

Now standing on the floor again, Rose closed the medbay door against the smoke. Unbelievably the air inside the room cleared quickly with the help of what she assumed was a fan. She turned back to the Doctor on the table, raising it up closer to her. Finally, she was able to get a good look at him, and her heart nearly stopped. She had seen his face before, but it even looked worse in the light. Where was blood all over mixed with soot. His cuts were open and weeping still, the blood running into his ears and onto the mattress. More blood was soaked through his shirt and suit jacket. It looked like a completely different injury. 

He looked like death. Before she could stop it, a sob escaped her lips as she reached to caress his face. “Doctor? Are you there? Please don’t regenerate. I’m here. I’ll make you better.” Even as she said that she didn’t believe herself.

As she held his face, he flinched and frowned, then low groan escaped his lips, followed by a deep sigh. Rose leaned in close, but nothing followed. But it was something, right? She hoped upon hope that was true. 

Tears fell, streaking her cheeks as she lightly ran her fingers over him. What could she do? There was no question, she had to help. But how?

She stepped back not knowing where to start. Then he flinched again and she went to his upper body, gently nudging his shoulder. It took a second but he hissed, groaned and mumbled something unintelligible. Rose let out a breath. Ok, he was responding. 

Next, she looked down at his torso. His chest moved up and down rhythmically despite his injures. So, breathing was ok for now at least. Not really knowing what came next she figured it would be good to check on his hearts. 

It was hard to find a clean spot on this chest to put her head. Everything was covered in blood. Carefully she opened what was left of his jacket and lowered her head to his chest. She grimaced as her cheek and head made contact with the blood. But after a few moments she heard the unmistakable sound of dual hearts. They were weaker than usual, but they were both there. The sound of them came as a huge relief and she stayed there for another minute just listening.

Now calmer, she went to lift her head, only to find out that she had stuck to him in the blood. She used a little more force and separated from him. She wiped it away without a thought and pushed her now sticky hair behind her ear. 

The systematic approach should have been for her to start at his head and move down, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from a large abdominal wound on his left side. His jacket was shredded in the area, making it easy to see. Blood oozed from it and it looked deep. She knew she needed to stop it, but how?

Turning toward the cabinets Rose scanned for something, anything to stop the bleeding. One door popped open and inside were a variety of trauma dressings. She picked the biggest one and tore it open and pressed it into the wound, eliciting a another groan from the Doctor. 

He didn’t wake, but the groan drew her attention to his head. His hair was matted with blood, but Rose carefully parted what she could, eventually finding a large laceration that was weeping blood. She retrieved a smaller gauze pad and set that on the wound. And then she did it again, and again, each time finding more blood and more injuries. Now more and more he groaned with each time she manipulated anything, pressing gauze on various problem areas or looking for injuries. She worked quickly, getting to as much as she could. But then he started to move. It was not coordinated at first, but then he connected with her arm, pushing her hands away when he felt pain. After one particularly strong push, she glanced up to his face to find his eyelids fluttering. 

She rushed up to his head, putting her hand on his cheek. He leaned a little towards it and his lips parted. “Rose?” came his hoarse voice.

“I’m here Doctor! There was an explosion and you…”

He waved his hand in the air weakly to stop her. “Can’t see… Can’t hear,” he croaked. Then he went limp against her hand.

“Doctor?” she begged, but nothing happened. At least there was something though, he had talked. Not only had he talked, he made sense. Now she closely inspected his face. His whole face looked burned. She hadn’t really seen him before this because she had been drawn to the blood. Now she could see that his whole face looked burned, not horribly, but definitely singed. His eyelids were swollen, the lashes of both eyes and the eyebrows above were mostly gone. Carefully she opened his left eye, he shifted a little but didn’t fight her off. The eyeball itself was almost totally bloodshot. 

Panicking just a little, she raced back to the cabinets, but had no idea where to begin. Faint beeps emanated around her like the TARDIS was trying to tell her something. The noises were different from usual though. They were quieter but seemed more urgent at the same time. Next to her a drawer popped open. She pulled it out further to see it was filled with small bottles all organized in open boxes, none of which were labeled in English. But after a moment, one of the boxes started to glow. Rose picked it up to look closely at it. It had a picture of an eye and flame on it and a little eye dropper in it. “Well I guess this is the one.” She held it up to the light, it looked green and thick. Then she squeezed the bottle into her palm, willing it to work. Back at his side, she gingerly opened his left eye again and used the dropper to drop two drops of the liquid in. In response, he blinked repeatedly but didn’t cry out and Rose let out a sigh of relief. Then she repeated this in the other eye.

With his eyes treated, Rose started on his ears. It was no surprise that he couldn’t hear. She wasn’t in the direct path of the blast but her ears still rung painfully. She could only imagine what his were going through. She headed back to the drawers to root around. A similar thing happened. A small bottle of now blue liquid glowed in its box. This one had a picture of an ear and two drops on it. She assumed it meant to put two drops in each ear. Again she approached his head and gently turned it to the side. His ear looked ok; she figured it was damage from the concussion of the blast. She dropped two drops in it, and then turned his head to repeat it in his other ear.

Rose stepped back. She had been working on him for quite a while, but he still looked terrible It looked like most of the bleeding had slowed or stopped, but she didn’t know what to do next. He looked so pitiful there, still covered with blood and soot. She knew he needed time to just heal, but couldn’t help herself thinking that she should be doing something. 

So, she started to tear. She tore at the shredded clothing on him, mostly the top half of him. It was easy really, this clothes barely held together anyway. What she got off easily she dumped into a pile on the floor. Even his jacket came off easily and she found she had to move him very little. She left his trousers in place mostly, save one leg that was torn in half, revealing his lower leg. The rest of them were somehow not that badly torn. 

Finally, she made a warm bowl of water and soap. She took to cleaning him up, using a flannel and repeatedly dipping it into the soapy water, cleaning and wringing it out. He was mostly quiet during this mainly making faces with little groans. She found that he was covered in little cuts in addition to his big gashes on the skin that was exposed through his torn clothes. Thankfully, most of the little ones were already starting to heal. She took it to mean that his “superior physiology” was kicking in. She cleaned where she could, avoiding the back injuries. Slowly she moved down to his legs, or at least the one that she could see, noticing that they felt much colder than the rest of his body. That seemed funny but they seemed largely intact and cleaned up easily. One leg seemed unaffected. 

Suddenly she remembered something. The dermal regenerator! She had forgotten about the little device until now. She dug around for it and, retrieving it from the top drawer, lifted the now soaked dressing on his abdomen and aimed the machine at the wound. Usually the Doctor operated it, but had shown her how after getting a particularly nasty wound on his back once that she needed to fix. Of course, looking back now, it was nothing in comparison to what lay before her. But she started anyway, praying that such a little instrument could fix such a big problem. 

Rose used it slowly across the track of the wound, sweeping back and forth as she had been shown. It started to work, but only gradually at first. After a few more minutes, she could see that it was actually doing quite well. Still later it closed the wound completely. Another sigh of relief followed when she stepped back, seeing that now there was a jagged red line instead of a deep cut. Now she felt a little stupid for not thinking of it earlier. She repeated with all his other major wounds, leaving the little ones as they were already looking much better. 

When Rose was done, she surveyed him again. He looked much better, though he was still very pale. His legs were still cold too. Under the cabinets Rose found a big warm blanket that she covered him with, tucking it around him. He didn’t react at all, other than seeming to relax with a slight sigh. That was enough for Rose though. 

Now standing there looking at him, exhaustion hit her like a freight train. Usually it crept up on her, but this was sudden and extreme. She swayed a little on her feet, feeling the room begin to spin. Next to the hospital bed the Doctor was in was a small wheeled chair and she grabbed for it, slumping into it. Everything hurt, and it was now more evident when she wasn’t rendering care to the Doctor. Carefully, she pushed herself with aching feet back over to the bed. It came to about chest level. It was perfect to rest her elbows on the edge, head in her hands. She was able to steady herself a bit but still felt dizzy. Finally, she rested her head on his legs, bending her arms onto the mattress. It wasn’t comfortable. But she could relax. He was doing better, his breaths slower and deeper. Rose listened to the cadence of his breathing as she fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter posted today. I'm trying to get this out there quickly. I'm still adding to the end of this story and cleaning it but expect more soon. Maybe in a few days. Like what you see? Hit me up. I'm happy to hear what you've got.

Rose felt something one on the fringes of her consciousness. She wasn’t particularly comfortable but she had been worse. Something was touching her, specifically something or someone was brushing her hair behind her ear. 

Slowly she started to remember where she was and what happened. She moved her head and the hand touching her dropped away. Now she remembered, she was at the Doctor’s bedside. She lifted her head slowly, taking note that it was still pounding, so that she could get a good look at him.

He still was flat on his back, now looking at her by turning his head to the side. He wore a tired smile but seemed alert. He was still very pale and that was made worse by the almost black circles under his sunken eyes. But no matter how terrible he looked, he held her gaze. “How are you feeling?” she asked, now sitting up fully. 

“Yours or mine?” he croaked as if he hadn’t even heard her question.

“What?” With a flick of his wrist, he motioned for her to look down at herself. Rose did, and for the first time saw just how much blood was on her clothes. Placing her hand on her face also told that she was coated there too, even up into her hair. She tried in vain to wipe some off. “Oh, yours mostly I think. You got a little bit more banged up then I did.”

He was still giving her a grave look.

Rose hoped to her feet, ignoring her screaming muscles that begged for more rest. She stepped up to his head. “Can you see alright? Before you said you couldn’t.” She leaned in a bit closer.

He cleared his throat before answering, but it still came out very rough. “Yeah, you’re a bit blurry, but my eyes seem like they are coming along OK.” Now that she was closer he looked her up and down. “You can’t be comfortable. You should go and get cleaned up a bit.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. 

“Doctor, I don’t really want to leave you just yet.”

“You really should. It can’t be comfortable covered in my blood.”

“It’s fine, you really scared me. I thought I was going to lose you. I’m not sure I want to leave you alone.”

“Rose, I’m ok for now. Nothing is going to change, not at least immediately. I’m not going anywhere… for a while.” He was looking at her earnestly, but something about his statement struck her as odd, but he offered no further explanation. 

“I don’t know,” she started but then he shot her a look that said that there was no arguing with him. “Are you sure?” He nodded slowly. Rose sighed, a shower sounded amazing. If nothing else, to get the blood off. “Okay fine, I know I’m not going to win. But only for a few minutes. And if you need me, I mean for anything, I’ll come right back.”

“I promise to call you if I need anything. I’m just going to sleep anyway. Now go wash up, you smell strongly of iron.” He crinkled his nose at her but gave her a weak smile before closing his eyes again. 

Rose laid her hand on his arm. “I’ll be right back.” He didn’t acknowledge her so she hustled off to her room. 

OoOoOo  
Before leaving, Rose made sure the rails on the bed were up just in case. She stood in the doorway a moment, just taking him in. He looked small in that big bed, and somehow his injuries made him even look smaller. But she had more work to do. With one more quick glance she turned and trudged to her room, which was thankfully close. Every step was painful and slow. She wasn’t sure if her pain was from exhaustion, injury or the almost suffocating thoughts that flew around in her brain. 

It occurred to her then that she wasn’t even sure how much time had passed since the explosion. She quickly pulled out her mobile from her pocket, much to her surprise it still worked. Must be some super phone perk, she thought to herself as she turned it on so that she could check the time. 

A little quick and mercifully easy mental math later, she found out that it had been fifteen hours since the explosion itself, meaning that it had been nearly thirty-six hours since she had last slept properly. That explained a lot. But the fact that there was no end in sight didn’t help. 

In her room, she stripped on the way to the shower, the once beautiful outfit that he had picked so lovingly for her now falling in a blood-soaked heap near her closet. Stepping into the shower was a moment of pure relief. The water pounded on her sore muscles and started to wash away the day. Sadly though, it did not last long. While washing she couldn’t help thinking about the Doctor, laying helpless in the bed. The pictures wouldn’t go, they just kept flashing in her mind. She had never seen him look so vulnerable, so damaged. Even injured, he usually hopped back up. But not this time. He hadn’t even made an effort this time. It was clear that for once he needed her more then she needed him.

This thought sent a shiver down her spine, goose flesh to her limbs and tears to her eyes. Something caught her eye as she rinsed off, the floor of the shower was red. His blood. She stood, mesmerized under the spray, unable to take her eyes from the crimson swirl of the Doctor’s blood going down the drain. 

Now Rose started to frantically rub her fingers in her hair. She reached for the shampoo, hands shaking so much she nearly dropped it. Even with the lather her hair was sticky. With a sudden burst of energy she scrubbed all she could, so much so that her scalp ached from the friction. She didn’t stop until the water on the floor of the shower was clear. 

Panic had begun to set in. The walls of the shower suddenly seemed suffocatingly close. She had to get out, now. Hurriedly she slammed the knobs of the shower off and burst out the door, grabbing her towel and running out of the ensuite like she was being chased. 

Her room offered no relief, but she toweled herself off as quickly as possible, grabbed clothes off the back of her chair and threw them on while running out the door to her room. This was a feat considering how hard she was shaking. 

She couldn’t be in there anymore. No matter how big the TARDIS was on the inside, it wasn’t big enough. Even without shoes on, Rose found herself, running through the hall, past the medbay and through the still smoky console room to the exterior door. Without regard to where she was, the flung the doors open. She just needed to be out. 

The cold outside air hit her like a brick, but did its job, and she began to slowly calm down. Leaning over with her hands on her knees, she breathed in the cool air deeply. When she had relaxed to the point that she could start moving again, she looked around to see where she was. “So, we must have made it to that planet the Doctor was talking about then;” she mumbled to herself. Or maybe this is London? He had talked about taking her home in another time didn’t he? It certainly looked like London. 

Rose was still trying to get a fix on where she was when a weak cry came from inside the TARDIS bringing her back to into real life. “What the,” was all she got out before another cry could be heard, this one sounded frighteningly like her name. “Doctor!” she shouted before running back into the TARDIS, leaving the doors wide open.

OoOoOo  
In the shadows a small orange ember could be seen. A moment later the ember fell to the ground then was stomped out by an old, dirty trainer. The figure that wore the trainer stepped into the light. He was tall and thuggish with a curious look on his face. After a few moments he started making his way towards the strange blue box that he had seen a girl disappear into, a crooked smile formed on his lips. 

OoOoOo  
Rose rushed to the medbay, skidding to a halt by his bed. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” she blurted out. 

The Doctor, still on his back, widened his eyes at her hasty arrival. “I’m ok; I’m just really thirsty and a little hungry.” His voice was still quite hoarse.

“Ok, can I sit you up a little?” she asked. He nodded. 

She pulled the lever on the head of the bed and eased him up, not to sitting properly, but reclining. Next, she went to the sink and grabbed a little cup and half filled it with water. “Just take a sip for now OK?” Again, he nodded. She elevated the cup to his lips and gave him a little sip. He sighed and rested his head again.

“Thanks.” After a few seconds, he lifted his head again to get another drink. She let him slowly finish the little cup.

Putting the cup aside, she asked, “Now, what are you hungry for?”

“Anything really, just something not complicated,” he answered quietly, his eyes now closed.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, already hustling out and to the galley. Once there, she and stood for a second at a loss as to what to fix. She opted to just open all the cabinets until something spoke to her. 

On the second shelf, there was a packet of banana custard that would cook up quickly. She picked it and started it before finding a bottled electrolyte drink. 

When everything was ready, she put the items on a tray with a spoon and went back to join the Doctor. He was sleeping again when she entered and she nudged him on the leg but got no response. She set down the tray and gently shook his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes. He wore a very serious face, unlike the smile he usually greeted her with. “Soup’s on!” she chirped cheerfully. She could see a smile begin to tug at his lips, but it didn’t quite materialize.

She sat him up a little more and could tell that it caused him a lot of pain. He grimaced and groaned as she did it, but didn’t tell her to stop. She gave him a few moments to recover before approaching him with the custard. He eyed her warily but opened up when she went to spoon a little in his mouth. “Mmm” he hummed at the first bite, making Rose smile. 

“You know I can feed myself,” he said.

“I know, but you should conserve your energy,” she replied, spooning more custard into his mouth. 

She continued to feed him but he only took about 5 mouthfuls before he raised his hand indicating he was full. She put down the custard and switched to the electrolyte drink, which he was not intrigued by. With encouragement though, he sipped it a few times. 

He finally settled back and sighed, closing his eyes once again. She went to go have a seat on the bed, figuring that since his legs weren’t injured she could perch up there for a while. She patted his legs again but she still didn’t get a response. “Doctor?” He opened his eyes again and looked at her. “Do you think you can move your legs a bit?”

“No.” It wasn’t a harsh answer, but seemed rather a statement of fact.

“What d’ya mean?”

“Well I can’t feel my legs, just that, obviously I can’t move them either. I must have sustained a spinal injury in the blast. We’ll have to do a scan to be sure.”

Rose looked at him dumbfounded. He was so casual about what he had just said. She didn’t move so he prompted her, “Rose, pull the scanner over so we can have a look.” Slowly she moved over to grab it.

He had her maneuver the scanner that looked like giant camera to the top of his head. She pushed the red button and the scanner moved on its own down the length of his body. It beeped when it was finished. He had her pull the monitor over to him. “Can you fetch me my glasses?”

She had completely forgotten his suit jacket and clothes piled in a heap of torn fabric in the corner.

“Um, they may not have survived the blast, everything was really torn up.”

“Give it a try, you may be surprised.” She headed over to the corner and looked down on what looked just like a pile of singed rags and found the remnants of his suit jacket. She found a side pocket and plunged in a hand, fishing around. Her hand landed on something cool and cylindrical, she smiled.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, pulling out the sonic screwdriver and giving it a onceover. She tossed it to him and caught it, playing briefly with it, making buzzing noises of several pitches. Her hand was still in the pocket and she found a ball of string and a clockwork mouse before her hand landed on his glasses. She got up and brought them to him. In turn, he tossed her the sonic and she placed it on the counter.

“Now, let’s see…” he pushed his glasses into place, “mild concussion, okay, bruised ribs, abdominal wound that is coming along nicely,” he stopped and gave her a thankful smile, “and oh there it is!” He pointed to a magnified image on the scanner. There see that? I have a fracture to the thoracic vertebra number 10 with associated complete injury to the spinal cord.” Rose gave him a confused look. The Doctor removed his glasses to look at her directly. “My spinal cord is severed Rose.”

She could feel her panic rising again. Silence between them spread as the metabolized his last words. “You mean you are PARALIZED?”

“Yup.” he popped the “p”.

“Seriously? How long were you going to wait to tell me?”

“I really didn’t want to alarm you…”

“How can you possibly be so calm about this?” she raised her voice a little too loud.

He winced at her. “My hearing is all better by the way.”

“Sorry,” she whispered, looking at her feet. “Is it really bad? I mean the fracture and the spinal cord.”

“By human standards yes, it would be debilitating. Not so much for me. The bone has already started to mend; we just need to fix the spinal cord.”

“Is that why your legs felt colder than your body?”

He reached out, taking her hand, and smiled. “Yes, it has to deal with dilated blood vessels and blood cooling after that. You did a good thing keeping me warm. But it really isn’t a big deal Rose, remember where we are.”

“So, there is a cure then?” she eyed him hopefully.

“Yes there is, erm, but it’s quite severe. The treatments can cause violent reactions. It’s called Neuro-grow. It actually helps the nerve endings re-connect. It’s pretty impressive.”

“But it’s severe? Like how?”

“I don’t exactly know, but by reputation I know that I will be quite sick.”

Rose had begun to chew her thumbnail. “How long does it take?’

“Oh well…” he paused, now rubbing his neck, “it’s about 15 hours. Then I imagine I will be a bit weak for a while. I’m sorry, but you will have to manage this Rose. It’s really complex and has to be given exactly on time or it won’t work.”

Rose’s face had gone ashen. “And you would stay paralyzed?” 

“Yes,” he answered quietly, “but that is not going to happen because you are in charge and it is going to go fantastically. You’ll see. I trust you with my life, Rose.” He gave her a smile and little squeeze on the hand. She smiled back in turn. He stiffened a little, took a deep breath and said, “Onward! Rose, go to the top right cabinet and you’ll find the big yellow box of Neuro-grow.”

She retrieved the box and turned it over in her hands. It was about 1 foot square and very heavy duty looking. The writing on it was all in Gallifreyan. She had hoped to be more of a help, but the TARDIS didn’t translate Gallifreyan. She handed him the box with a sigh. He took the box and set it on his lap, reached for both her hands and pulled her close until they were just inches apart.

He looked deeply into her eyes and Rose shivered at the closeness, causing him to smirk. He took a breath. “Rose, I can’t emphasize how important this is you have to follow the directions to the letter. Any deviation could have grave consequences. It could even kill me before regeneration.” She swallowed hard and he continued. “You will have to administer the medication, at least the first few doses, with a shot, and manage me until I can manage myself.” She nodded enthusiastically not breaking eye contact. “Good!” he exclaimed smiling brightly. She jumped back a bit with this new outburst. She settled on the rolling chair next to the bed and rolled herself up next to him.

The Doctor flipped up the latches on the yellow box and opened it. Inside there was a line of syringes. The first two were very big and bright red and the liquid inside looked purple. The remaining 3 syringes were smaller, with smaller doses of yellow fluid. There was a small laminated pamphlet tucked behind the shots. He pulled it out and opened it with a flourish and a grin, which made her giggle, albeit nervously. “Let’s see here,” he started, “the first two doses are the big ones and they each last for 6 hours before the next dose. The following 3 are spaced an hour apart.”

Rose pushed her chair over to the counter and retrieved a pad of paper and pen. “Hold up, let me get all this down in English.” She said scratching furiously on the pad with the pen.

The Doctor continued,” Ok, now… the first two shots should be given in the …ah…gluteal muscle.” She didn’t react and was concentrating, so he continued. “After each of the first two doses we wait for 6 hours, like I said, then we start the smaller doses, which can be given in the deltoid muscle in the upper arm. They are 1 hour apart.” He heard her repeating each instruction under her breath as she wrote.

“The shots must be given exactly on time. Missing them even by a minute would halt the process and not allow any further growing. Too early would cause an overdose. OK, now on to side effects. The first two doses can cause the most severe effects; including seizures, severe muscle spasms, severe pain, vomiting, nausea and chills. The other three doses have less serious side effects, mostly some spasms and maybe nausea. It’s also important that I not go in swimming for at least 20 minutes or I may get a cramp…” He shot her an impish grin.

She was still writing feverishly then paused. ”Wait what?” She caught his grin and realized what he said and smiled back, blushed and laughed.

“Rose this will not be easy.” He looked directly into her eyes again. “The worst part is that you will be on your own with this. I won’t be able to help you. Are you sure you want to do this?” His eyes were imploring with an air of sadness.

She swallowed and reached for him, hand resting on his shoulder. “Are you kidding me? Of course I’ll do this. I’m here for you no matter what. Of course, you may need to cook me dinner when this is all over.” She beamed at him and he chuckled. Her nervousness was apparent though; she kept twirling her hair with her fingers and shifting back and forth.

“Shall we begin?” he asked, she nodded. “OK, take the box over and put it on the counter. The TARDIS should have a timer there too. Ah, I see it. Set the timer but don’t start it. We’ll give the shot, and then you can push start. OK?”

“OK…” She did as she was told and readied the first syringe. She had friends that had been to nursing school and she had watched them practice with dummy syringes and saline solution. She approached him again and his eyes widened at the sight of the needle.

“Now I’ll hold onto the railing on this side.” He indicated the rail on the opposite side of the bed. “I’ll have to be rolled up on my side so you can give the shot…just above my bum.”

“Um alright…”

She set the syringe back down on the counter. She then walked back around to the other side. He reached his opposite hand over and grabbed the metal bar. She stood next to the bed and gently pushed up on his bum and legs helping him rotate and rest on his side. He obviously strained with effort and pain, but seemed to settle down once he got into place. She went and got the syringe again and an alcohol swab from the drawer. 

 

She noticed again the TARDIS had been very quiet this whole time. There usually were hums and various other noises, as well as lights flickering. “Doctor, anything else I should know before we start?”

“Like what?”

“Like, what happens with the TARDIS during all this?”

“Well I was able to land us just before the blast, so we should be safe. But I’ll be honest; the TARDIS is injured just like me. She will need a lot of work, but I can feel that she is still functioning. I guess you know that because were able to take a shower and cook. Anyway, she was able to concentrate on me in here. I don’t know what will happen if I am unconscious again. Just stay close to me and don’t count on much out of her for the time being ok?”

“Ok” she shivered a little, as she had just realized that she was going to be alone, very alone, for quite some time and that scared her. She wasn’t used to him not being able to charge ahead and face the opponent. This was new. Sure, she could fight and run and hold her own, but this was new territory entirely. He was usually just around the corner or fighting his own battles, to return to her at the end. Now she wasn’t sure if he could be there at all. He had taught her to fight but not like this. She was suddenly glad the he could not see her face. She was unable to put on a confident mask right now. 

“I’m ready” he called over his shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts.

He wrapped his arm around to his back and pointed to a muscle above his bum. “Put it right here. And Rose… I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Not if I see you first!” she countered, feeling his nervousness and trying to stay calm herself. 

She quickly pulled down the waistband of his trousers, swiped the alcohol pad over the muscle and plunged in the needle before she could have second thoughts. The medicine must have been thick, because it was hard to inject. The process took about 3 minutes to put all the way in. The Doctor’s hands tensed up on the railing and his breathing became labored, but he didn’t make any noises. The medicine must have been horribly painful going in. When she finished she pulled out the needle and quickly ran to the counter and pushed the button on the timer.

She rolled him back onto his back and noticed his eyes were half closed. He tried to smile and opened his mouth to say something. Just then he was gripped by a horrific muscle spasm. He arched his back and let out a wail unlike anything she had ever heard. Rose grabbed onto him so he didn’t fall off the bed, but feeling entirely useless. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she watched him contorted in pain. After a few minutes he relaxed and flopped back on the bed, not moving. Rose watched as he drew one breath and then another, but his eyes did not open. Slowly she relaxed, thinking the worst was over. Just as she thought that his body tensed again but this time he was thrown into a violent seizure. 

His upper body convulsed strongly, flailing all over. Rose stuffed a pillow along the railing of the bed because he was repeatedly hitting it so hard with his arm. His jaw was clenched, but she could hear him drawing ragged breaths. White foam formed in the corners of his mouth, then he vomited. But there was nothing she could do because the bobbing of his head made it hard to get close. She had never seen anything like this before and she found herself just standing there staring, transfixed, not moving but close enough that she kept him from falling off the unguarded side of the bed. The seizure lasted just a couple of minutes, but it felt like an hour. He finally relaxed. She pulled up the railing on her side, went a got a wet rag and cleaned him up. Carefully she wiped off his face and neck whispering “It’s going to be alright,” and various other assurances all the while wondering if she was lying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I am posting just one chapter tonight. I hope to post again this week. It will be over before you know it! Thanks for the kind comments.

The next few hours crawled along painfully. Rose never left his side, instead hovering over him. She nervously flitted around the room, straightening his blankets and cleaning up, just anything to keep busy. The once quiet TARDIS seemed to come back to life, although it sounded different than usual. The comforting hums were gone, and she could hear odd sounds like alarms but nothing close to her. But it was concerning. Unfortunately, she could do nothing about it with the ship’s pilot unconscious. 

After what seemed like eternity he stirred, groaning and his eyes fluttering. She raced to his side and put her hand on his chest.

“Hi,” she said when his eyes opened completely and rested on her.

“Hello.” he answered, just above a whisper, giving her a weak smile. His voice was still rough.

“What now?” she really didn’t know what to do now. She knew he needed help but she was at a loss about what should come next.

He shifted on the bed and cleared his throat. “I just need to sleep as much as possible between now and the next shot. What do I have, about one more hour?”

“Yes.” She held up the timer to show him, marveling a little that he still had his time sense. Then she remembered the sounds of the TARDIS. “Doctor, why is the TARDIS making so many noises? I keep hearing alarms and bells, but they are pretty quiet though.”

He listened for a second and frowned. “She’s hurting, probably from the explosion. She can feel me hurting too. I imagine the alarms are quiet because she can’t get them in all the rooms yet. I haven’t heard the big bad noises yet, I think she’s hanging on for now. She’ll heal just like me then later I can go and assess all the damage. I can tell she’s mechanically stable for now. I don’t know though, there may be something else…“ He took a deep breath through his nose.

“What?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Something’s wrong. She won’t tell me. Well I can access that when I get up and around again.”

Rose just looked at him sadly. He took a deep breath and glanced around the room as if to clear the thoughts from his head. “Maybe you can move me to my bed? I would be so much more comfortable.” Rose just looked at him wide eyed. He wasn’t sure if the fear of more reactions to the medicine or just the fear of moving him scared her the most. “Really, Rose, I’m alright to move. The bone has mended, like I said, and is pretty stable. This bed has wheels; you can just bring me in there. It’s going to hurt a fair bit to move me, but it should be fine.”

Rose hadn’t moved. “But the shot I gave you… you reacted so badly to it. You had a seizure; what if all that happens again? I didn’t know what to do.”

“You did everything right. I know you did. Besides, the reactions to the medication will lessen each time, especially when we move to the little shots.” He took her hand in his, tracing his finger along all her new little abrasions. “It’ll be alright, I promise.” He looked up into her eyes. “You can do this.”  
Rose nodded and squeezed his hand. 

OoOoOo  
“What the fuck is this?” the intruder spat, looking around the still smoke-filled console room. He stepped back outside the door and looked around, ran around the box then back through the door. The machine in the middle of the room was making odd noises, almost like alarms. There was heavy smoke all around. It looked like there may have been an explosion there. Some things were charred, and there was a pool of blood near the middle of the room.

He pulled his shirt up over his face and stepped in again and poked around a little, wondering where the girl had gone. “Hello?” he called but quietly. Off to the side there was a hallway that looked pretty clear of smoke. Maybe she went that way. If nothing else he wanted to find out what this was. And if she was all alone in here…He headed into the hall, holding his breath past the smoke. In the hallway he could hear voices. He ducked into the closest room, it looked like a kitchen. The voices didn’t seem to me moving so he looked around. It was well stocked with food. Well he was there he figured, and he hadn’t eaten, it wouldn’t hurt anyone if he found something to eat. Next he quietly opened cabinets and the refrigerator until he found a sandwich

He stood munching it while looking around. Some of the cabinets were hard to open or did not open at all. It was weird because they didn’t have locks. He heard more alarms too, but saw no speakers. Food has been scarce lately for him, so as he came across things, he grabbed at what looked good. He even stuffed several things in his pockets for later. 

Down the hall the voices got louder and things were moving around. He man quickly stepped behind the door and stood there, peeking through the crack into the hall. 

OoOoOo  
In the medbay, Rose moved the rolling chair and the various trays around out of the way and unlocked the wheels of the gurney. She tucked the sonic next to him, grabbed his drink and gently steered him towards the door. Thankfully the door was wide enough to accommodate the bed. She turned the bed with much effort down the hall towards his room. She had only been in his room once or twice, and then mostly looking in through the doorway. When he needed her or they wanted to talk they usually were in the console room or her room. He never really made a big deal about it, but it just wasn’t a place they both went. Maybe it was just his place to get away, maybe find some solace.

She wheeled him down the hall and to his door. Again, the doorway was wide enough, or maybe the TARDIS helped a little, but anyway she was able to get the bed in with only a few minor bumps. She could see the Doctor tense up and hiss with each one, but was grateful that they didn’t seem to cause him severe pain.

She rolled the gurney next to his bed and manually lowered it. Then she took down the covers off the bed. She lowered his head until he was flat again. He didn’t like this part and let out a series of groans and one or two sharp yelps. 

“OK?” she asked. He nodded but didn’t answer. 

“Do you want me to transfer you to your bed or are you OK on this one?”

He took a few breaths. “I’d like to be on my bed if you can make it work. This hospital bed is hard.”

“Are you sure I won’t hurt you?”

“No, I’m not,” his voice had taken a sharper tone. “Please try though,” he left it at that. 

“Ok,” she answered back, not entirely sure it was the right thing to do. 

It took a moment for Rose to decide her plan of action. During this, the Doctor kept his eyes shut. Rose was a little annoyed that he wasn’t helping, but overall understood. He was hurting and she needed to accept that. 

After a few seconds, she lowered the side rails, pulled the hospital bed close to his bed and then walked around and climbed on his bed. The beds were on the same level so now she simply pulled the sheet off the gurney with him on it and dragged him and the sheet onto his bed. 

Throughout the operation he kept his jaw clenched and body as rigid as he could manage. Of course, his legs shifted to the side and she had to make a special effort to straighten him out. When she had him adequately over she flopped beside him. Only then did her exhaustion rear its ugly head. But she knew she wasn’t close to done. He was still in just his trousers and no shirt, not exactly the optimum outfit for recovery.

Painfully she got to her feet and looked back at him. He had his eyes screwed shut and was taking heavy breaths through his teeth. He looked miserable and her heart hurt for him. He was working so hard at keeping it all together. But so was she. 

Rose walked over to is wardrobe. In the drawers were neatly stacked clothing of all kinds. Accidentally she came across the one filled with his pants and shut it quickly. But she did come across one with soft undershirts and another with pyjama pants. She selected one of each and came back to him. By now he had relaxed somewhat. He was laying very still but his face wasn’t as tight as it had been. 

“Doctor, I’m going to change your clothes now OK?”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Do you have to?”

“I don’t think you are in the best of outfits for recovery. Plus, you have no shirt on and you’ll eventually get cold. He growled in response but didn’t fight her. 

 

Rose could feel his eyes on her as she went to unbutton his trousers. It’s not like she hadn’t done it before. At Christmas she had to take off black jeans and jumper to get him into jim jams. But then she had actually just pulled on the pant legs and they had come off straight away, and the pyjama bottoms had slid on easily too. He had the advantage of being slim. But in this instance, he was wearing his slightly too tight trousers. 

Rose had tried for an air of indifference when reached for the button, only to be met with his hands. “Here, let me,” he uttered to Rose’s immense relief.

The Doctor undid the button and lowered the zip, then pushed down what he could with his hands. He didn’t get far though since he was unable to lift his hips. But with everything lowered, Rose was able to once again pull the trouser legs from his feet. 

The pyjama bottoms were another issue altogether. At one point, she was standing on the bed, straddling him and pulling them up. It was more exhausting than moving him to the bed. 

After she was done dressing him, by now he had been able to also wiggle into an undershirt, with only minimal groaning, she worked to prop him up and hand him his electrolyte drink to sip more. Now she took hold of the timer again while sitting on the edge of the bed. 

Rose wanted nothing more than to lay back and shut her eyes, but at glancing at the timer she saw that she only had about ten minutes to prepare the next shot.

Rose stared at the timer in disbelief. There was no way time could have passed so quickly. She looked back to the Doctor, who had been silent. His eyes were closed again. Slowly Rose stood, much to the objection of every muscle in her body. Not only was she sore, but the fatigue caused the pain to be deep in her muscles. And it wasn’t going to get any better soon. 

With momentum, some of the aches dissipated though, as she made her way back to the medbay. As she was hustling through the hallway she could have sworn she heard something fall in the galley, but dismissed it, she had to give that shot on time no matter what. It went together nicely and soon she was on her way back, now also holding an alcohol wipe and a plaster also. 

It had only been minutes but when she returned he was awake once more, drinking from the can of electrolyte drink. She couldn’t help but smile at him, and he mirrored her, putting the can down. The smile also offered new hope,as it seemed as the color was returning to his face a bit. “Time for your medicine!” she said, holding up the shot. His face fell somewhat.

“Way to kill the mood, Rose.”

She hopped on the bed and rolled him on his side again, this time it was harder because he didn’t have railings to hold onto. She prepared the area and said, “Are you ready?”

“No but yes, wait for the timer,” his voice was low.

They waited in tense silence until the timer beeped, making them both jump. Then she administered the shot. It seemed a little thinner than last time, and went in a little faster. Quickly she reset the timer then she rolled him back and stared at him. His eyes were open just staring back, the suspense building as they waited for the inevitable.

Rose was beginning to think that maybe this time it wouldn’t be so bad when he suddenly arched his back and let out a high-pitched scream. Then he sat bolt upright like his abdominal muscles had contracted and screamed again. But it wasn’t a scream, certainly not an cognizant reflection of pain, more of an involuntary screech. Rose jumped back and scrambled off the bed like he was on fire. She knew there was nothing she could do, but it still hurt horrible to see him suffer. After the contractions, he began to shake heavily but only for a moment or too. Then he relaxed and Rose finally breathed again.

After he calmed and his breathing evened out, Rose paced the room. Despite her incredible fatigue she couldn’t sit still. But she was so tired that her feet dragged on the floor. Sleep was far away though; it was the last thing on her mind. She worried over the TARDIS and if there was anything else that could go wrong before the Doctor was better. She knew that even injured, the TARDIS would do her best to keep them safe. She also pondered her situation with the Doctor. What if something went wrong and he didn’t recover? Would he have to regenerate to fix himself? He certainly couldn’t go about saving the universe if he couldn’t run. This thought truly scared her. She shook her head to try to get it away and paced more.

She had started the timer for 6 hours right after she gave the shot. She now set the alarm on her phone for ten minutes before the next shot was due in case she got busy. She wanted time to prepare for it.

After pacing for a long time she figured she should maybe go into the hallway to walk off her anxiety both for a change in scenery and in case she was going to bother him. She would still be close to him but wouldn’t wear a hole in the floor. She was heading towards the door when she heard a faint and sleepy “Rose…” She turned around to see that the Doctor was awake and looking at her.

“Hi, I didn’t think that you would wake up so soon.” She came back, offering a sympathetic smile. 

“I heard you getting ready to leave; I’m not so sure you should just yet. What if I need you?” he spoke barely over a whisper.

“I was just going into the hall, but I can stay close if you want. You go back to sleep, I won’t go anywhere, I promise.” She walked back towards him. “Come on, just rest, you are going to need it.”

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” he asked, ignoring her last request, his eyes open a little wider.

She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter; you’re the one that needs to get better right now.”

“No, you’ve got to be knackered. You can’t go on like this. Just come lay down for a while, you can get up in plenty of time to get my next shot.”

“Doctor I…”

“Please Rose, I know you need it too, I can see it in your eyes.”

She knew that there was no point in arguing with him, and she really was quite tired. She slowly made her way to his bed and lay down on top of the covers. By this time the Doctor was already fast asleep.

OoOoOo  
Roughly an hour passed before the Doctor was woken by a movement next to him. He opened his eyes to see that Rose was shivering slightly in her sleep. He nudged her lightly and her eyes flew open. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked with a voice surprisingly strong for someone who had just been asleep.

“It’s okay Rose, you just looked cold. Why don’t you come under the covers, there’s plenty of room.” He tugged at the duvet. 

Rose knew there was no room for argument. She was too tired to anyway. She just accepted the invitation and snuggled down next to him with just enough room in between them to give him adequate space. That was, until she felt something moving under the duvet, only to feel him take her hand and give it a squeeze. 

“We’re gonna get through his,” he muttered. 

“I know,” she replied, still unconvinced.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monster chapter today. I wanted to post tomorrow but will be too busy, so it's early! Thanks for all the comments and the kudos. It really validates the work.   
> What;'s on tap for today? Angst, confusion and who is in the TARDIS?

Rose was more comfortable than she had been in what seemed like ages. She was warm, completely relaxed and she had her arms wrapped around something cool. She was dreaming about being home, warm in her own bed. In her dream there was a loud beeping. She reached for the alarm clock but nothing happened, then she shot awake. The noise was from her mobile phone alarm. Then she realized just what had made her so comfortable. In her sleep she had cuddled up next to the Doctor. The cool thing she was holding was HIM! She jerked her arms back and slid out of bed as fast as possible, silencing the mobile clumsily. She was horrified to think that she may wake him and he would figure out what happened. 

They had been close before, hugging, dancing, holding hands, but not that close, not sleeping and holding on to each other close. It seemed that their closeness had always stopped short of relationship holding and landed squarely in the realm of casual affection. It wasn’t like Rose wouldn’t have wanted it to happen, but every time it started to move in that direction, he suddenly would find a reason to do something or be somewhere else. So finding herself holding him was a shock and would have been more so for him. Luckily for Rose, he didn’t seem to have moved at all, even with her scrambling out of the bed. He was still sleeping soundly and she blew out a little breath of relief.

Now standing, Rose stretched. She had slept surprisingly well considering the situation. Initially she had stayed a distance away from him but must have moved closer in her sleep. She had to admit though, that it was nice having somebody next to her. But then again it was positively mortifying to think of how she ended up, all cuddled up to him. She glanced at him again. He had a very slight smile on his face. Perhaps he was dreaming of something good too? Well at least he was still asleep, facing him after all that would have been beyond embarrassing. Rose smiled to herself, turning and padding out of the room. 

Once in the medbay she prepared the next shot. This one was smaller than the two others and she was hopeful it would have less side effects. Wasn’t that what the Doctor had said? She also hoped he wasn’t lying for her sake. 

She thought that this time it would be smart to take the box and bring it with her, in case they moved again, or maybe there would be time for more sleep. Rose blushed at this. Then again, maybe after a while he would want to be in the library or something. If this shot really had less effects he may be up to watch a movie or something. Just thinking of it made Rose smile. If nothing else, they would have a lot of time together while he was recovering. He was so calm now, at least when he wasn’t in pain. Maybe they would grow closer after all this. Again, Rose blushed. The thought of the whole situation gave her a warm feeling. Who knew what would happen. Maybe if she was close to him for the treatment he would want to be closer. She could hope, couldn’t she? She had been smitten since he wore leather. Maybe he just needed a reason to get closer.

Sighing, Rose he gathered the rest of the supplies to administer the shot and headed out. She turned the corner into the hallway, looking at her hands and deep in thought. She had only taken one step when something came into her field of vision. It was a pair of very dirty trainers. Her eyes shot up until she was staring into the face of a man, one she had never seen before. There was a second of confusion for both of them and then Rose let out a scream. The man turned and ran and Rose bolted to the Doctor’s room.

The Doctor obviously heard her scream and was wildly thrashing his arms in bed trying to maneuver himself to see her. He was calling, “Rose! What’s happening? Rose!”

She ran in, shut and locked the door, blurting, “Doctor there is someone in the TARDIS! A man!”

OoOoOo

Well, he found the mystery girl. He still had no idea where he was. Maybe this place was underground? This building made no sense. He had scared her and honestly she had scared him too, screaming like that. All he wanted to do was figure out where he was, maybe look around a bit more, who knew? He liked it there so far, maybe he could stay. But there could be others in there too, it was best to run for now. He ran down the corridor it seemed to have twists and turns than he remembered. A door appeared to his right and he ripped it open and ran in and fell straight into a pool.  
OoOoOo  
Rose was out of breath and ran over to the Doctor. He was sputtering, “What, where, who is here?”

“I don’t know who he is,” she yelled, unable to control herself, looking back over her shoulder at the door again.

“How did he get in here?”

Rose shook her head. “I have no idea. I went outside for just a moment after I took my shower. I needed to…” the Doctor was looking at her intently. “Umm, I needed to breathe. “ She slapped her hand on her forehead. “I must have left the door open when I ran back in. I’m sorry.” She started to cry. 

 

He reached out and pulled her close. She was still clutching the shot and supplies to her chest. With each breath she shuttered and he just held her, offering the little comfort he could in his current state. It was easy to tell though, that it wasn’t just the man in the TARDIS making her cry. It was everything; him, the exhaustion, pain, fear, all these caused her to finally break.

After a few minutes, she pushed away from him and angrily wiped her eyes. “This is stupid. We need to fight.”

He nodded, a little shocked at her rapid change of direction. 

He thought for a moment. “Our only real defense right now is that he is most likely lost. Maybe the TARDIS will be able to keep him confused long enough to give us a chance. Rose, I need to get to the console room to assess the damage. We can get him out of here. I’ll think of something. But we can’t fight him without the TARDIS though. If she is not working we don’t have a chance. He could be anywhere doing anything.” His hands flew to his hair.” Aaarg! This is so frustrating!” He raked his fingers though his hair in exasperation.

The moment was interrupted by the beeping of the timer. They just looked at each other both sighing deeply. It was time for another shot. It could not possibly come at a worse time. He sunk back into the pillows, defeated.

Rose looked away. The reality of the situation weighted heavy on them both. They needed to fight for the TARDIS but he couldn’t. And even worse, she was about to put him even more out of commission. 

His voice cut through her thoughts. “Just give it, we don’t have a choice.”

Rose nodded resolutely. “Yeah, right…” She forced a faked a smile, advancing to the bed with the shot. She could read his expression. He was a mix of angry and scared. He knew what needed to happen but didn’t like it, not one bit. 

Rose was going to roll him over when he stopped her. “You can give this one in my arm, it’s smaller.”

“Great!” she squeaked. 

“You don’t have to do this, I mean be fake happy. It’s not like we both don’t know how bad this really is.”

She froze, looking at him, but he had since looked away. He wasn’t usually this honest with her. He had a wonderful way of deflecting when things got bad. There were many times when she had no idea that they were in horrible peril until after it was all over. That was how he operated, and his honesty was making her uncomfortable. 

Rose moved closer to him but he didn’t react at all, his eyes fixed somewhere across the room. She set the supplies next to him, prepped his arm and gave the shot. He stiffened a little, but otherwise didn’t move as she administered it. She noticed as she pushed the plunger that it was very different from the other two. It went in like water. She attached a plaster and stepped back, holding breath. He hadn’t looked back at her. But was now breathing slowly as they waited. Rose took a moment and reset the timer and then looked back to him. 

The Doctor’s eyes landed on her just as his legs began to twitch and then his whole body spasmed. Next, he clenched his teeth so hard she thought they may break and she could hear him drawing rasping breaths through them. But he didn’t seize. It was a total body spasm, but no seizure. After a minute or two he relaxed and his breathing returned to normal. But his eyes remained closed. 

She sat by the bed for a few moments, but couldn’t sit still. She began pacing again. She had made it back and forth nearly 30 times before she felt the weight of his eyes on her. She stopped and turned to him.

He was pale and not moving other than his mouth to speak.“I need to get to the console room,” he ground out.

Rose came to his side. “Doctor, how do you expect me to get you in there? I can’t carry you, and the gurney will be near impossible to get up to the console. And should you even be moving? Maybe we should just stay here, I can secure the door.”

“Rose,” his voice was clearer now. “we need to stop him. He must be stopped. There’s no telling the damage someone like him could do here.”

“Can’t the TARDIS stop him?”

“Oh I can tell she’s trying. But she’s weak. She’s not even talking to me right now. We need to help her before he does something.”

“Ok but that brings us back to how?”

“Erm..” he paused,” There is that wheelie chair in the Medbay. You can get that and just wheel me in.”

“How are we going to keep you in it? You’ll just fall out.”

He reached out, moving for the first time since the shot, and took her hand, looking deeply into her eyes. “Improvise. I trust you. I don’t suppose I need to tell you to be careful getting it though. It’s probably still close. Just watch yourself.”

“What about you What if he finds you?”

“Well we can’t lock the door or you won’t be able to get back in. Even with the sonic it may not work with the TARDIS struggling. It may be safer if we just leave the door unlocked and I just sink into the bed and pretend to be a pillow. I am getting rather good at being inanimate.” He gave her a wink and a grin but there was no happiness behind it. He still looked exhausted and weak. There was also a touch of something else. Fear maybe, something she rarely if ever saw from him. She certainly shared in his fear. Neither of them was willing to admit it though.  
OoOoOo  
Before she could talk herself out of such a risky venture, Rose set about covering up the Doctor. She used the duvet and pillows to cover him, then tossed more pillows and various detritus from his room onto the bed, making it look like it was both unmade and used to as a table. When he was adequately covered she tapped him lightly on what she assumed was his head. That part of the lump bobbed and whispered “Good luck.”

Rose opened the door and peeked out. The corridor was mercifully empty. She crept out and scampered down the hall to a familiar door that she prayed was the medbay. She ripped the door open hoping that if there was anyone in there she would take them by surprise. 

The room was empty. With a sigh of relief she ran in and right to the chair. There was no way he would be able to support himself to sit up properly. She needed a way to fix him to the chair. After rooting around in the drawers she came up with a big roll of two inch wide tape. Grabbing the chair in one hand and the tape in the other she bolted back to his room, locking the door again when she was through it. 

The thought of him basically trapped under the sheets, completely vulnerable was heartbreaking. He didn’t move when she came in. Not a twitch. While moving to him she wondered just what was going through his mind. He so rarely was not in control of the situation. Even when Rose thought he may be, he wasn’t. There was always a plan. But now his body was failing him and the only cure incapacitated him. Even though it wasn’t as bad, he still was completely reliant on her. That had to be weighing heavily on him. Now his ship was in jeopardy too, and if she didn’t literally drag him along he couldn’t do anything about it. 

“Shall we?” she said, making it to his side. She didn’t wait for an answer; instead she pulled the duvet the pillows and everything else off the bed in one fell swoop. 

She had to hold back a gasp when she saw him. He was twisted but mostly laying on his back. She may have inadvertently gotten him in that position in the process of hiding him. She felt a twinge of sympathy in seeing him like that. He couldn’t right himself, and that must have felt terrible. He had his head turned away from her and didn’t turn it back. 

Again, without saying anything, she began to straighten him, taking care not to move too quickly or forcefully. Each push or pull caused a moan or groan, his first reactions to her, but cringeworthy ones at best. Most of them came from between clenched teeth in a thinly veiled attempt to not react to the pain. The worst part was that Rose knew what she was going and would have given anything to be able to stop. Finally after tremendous effort she stepped back, standing over his now straight body. 

He lay there, taking deep breaths but his eyes were screwed shut and he had a sheen of sweat on his face. 

“Um, do you need a minute?” Rose asked.

After a few more breaths he answered, “Yes, but we don’t have time for that. Let’s go.” Despite his order, he didn’t move or open his eyes. 

Rose took a steeling breath. “So I figure we can just sit you up and drag you onto the chair and well, I have this tape and … we will secure you with it.”

His eyes flew open. “You’re going to tape me to the chair?” His voice had taken a decided edge.

“Do you have a better idea?” she asked, though suddenly she had second thoughts about her plan. 

He surprised by answering back in a much softer, more resigned tone. “Fine, let’s start,” he simply said and then closed his eyes again.

Taking that as consent to start, Rose went to work. First she rotated his entire body in the bed until his head was at the side nearest the chair. That in itself was a feat, but not as difficult as getting him straight in the first place. She then stood at the edge of the bed and hauled him up into a sitting position. She had him nearly all the way up when he let out a loud yelp, causing her to stop in her tracks. 

“Did I do something wrong?” she rushed out, “I’m trying to be careful.”

“No, you’re fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He panted a few times before continuing, “My back is still terribly painful and now, of course, all my muscles have joined in too. Just give me a moment.” He was still panting. 

Rose stood still as he leaned heavily against her. He was technically sitting up but far from on his own. His arms were at his sides, his hands in fists, grabbing the sheets hard with white knuckles. 

Rose thought he would adjust for a few moments, but instead he spoke. “I have a little news,” his words were clipped.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. If you move I won’t be able to hold myself up.” There was now a strange sound to his voice. Was it shaking a little? Rose was suddenly grateful that she was not face to face with him, as he probably wouldn’t have wanted her to be able to read his face. 

Standing there, Rose was at a loss for what to do. They both knew what needed to happen. She had to do something so she settled with placing a hand on his shoulder, quickly finding out that that was the wrong thing. 

Her hand had not been there for a half second when he forcefully shrugged it off. 

“We need to get going, now,” he forced out. 

“Doctor if you hurt we should-“

“No!” he interrupted, “Just do it, I’ll be OK.” He paused a second then growled, ”Gods, would you just stop…treating me like a child?”

She felt the redness rise in her cheeks. He was lashing out, his reactions being to the situation but not aimed at her. But it hurt none the less. He was never the one who needed help; this must be unbearable for him. It was only a matter of time before he blew his top. Unfortunately, this was not a great time to have anger issues.

“Can we just go?” his voice was still raised and he was staring straight ahead. She could only imagine his face: intense, Oncoming Storm glare in full power.

“Sure.” Rose answered flatly. She knew that it was bad to be mad at him but she was walking a fine line between exhaustion and fear too. She had her fair share of pain as well. She was sure that she had a beautiful array of cuts and bruises from the blast too but hadn’t had time to fully assess herself.

Without a word Rose leaned him forward. He seemed to pick up on what she was doing and he grabbed the back of his knees to secure himself. She left his side and pushed the chair into place where she had been. She then reached out, wrapped her arms around his chest and heaved him back onto the chair. He let out another yelp but this time she didn’t react. 

Next, she took out the tape, holding him in place with her other hand. She stuck the tape to the back of the chair and simply wrapped it around his upper body and the chair. He lifted his arms to assist but didn’t make any noise. 

The Doctor’s legs were still on the bed after the taping, so Rose pulled the chair back until just his feet rested on the edge. She then came around, bent each leg in turn and put each foot on top of a chair leg that covered a wheel, taping each in place. The Neuro-grow box was on the bedside table and she plopped it on his lap. She then grabbed his sonic from the bed and held it out to him. He grabbed it but did not meet her eyes.

Pushing him out of the room and into the hall was not easy. It was a struggle to push the chair across the carpet, and when she did, it wanted to swivel. Each time he hissed loudly. Through it all he kept breathing slowly and deeply and from behind she could see the sweat forming on his neck. This moving was clearly becoming too painful for him so she finally stopped their progress. Wordlessly she knelt at his feet and proceeded to use what was left of the tape roll to keep the chair from turning. Upon straightening up, she noticed him rubbing his legs, face screwed up in pain.

The painful movement has ceased so this was different. “What’s the matter?” she tried to keep her tone conversational.

“They are burning and itching now,” he answered with no emotion. He just kept rubbing them as if he was willing them to stop.

“That’s good ya? It’s sensation, right?”

“I suppose it’s a sign. I don’t know if it is good or bad,” he answered noncommittally.

“I’m going to go with good,” Rose chirped. And with that, she got behind him to start the journey again. They had a plan, they had to get it done, there was no place for her to deal with this anger. It would only slow them down. So, right there she decided. She wouldn’t let his anger at the situation ruin their progress. He could be however he needed to be, but Rose wasn’t going to let him pull her down too. It was too important that she stay on track, someone had to. At that moment Rose decided not to allow his anger to affect her. 

In front of her, he mumbled something, head down.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” It was barely above a whisper and he didn’t raise his head.

“For?”

“Yelling at you. I know you are doing your best. This is just really bad. I feel so helpless. It’s not supposed to be like this. And now with this guy here…” He slowly lifted his head, trying to see her. She came around in front of him and squatted down, taking his hands.

Their eyes met, his were red rimmed with deep black circles under them, she squeezed his hands. She spoke quietly to him, “I told you I was here for you. And I’m going to do whatever I need to do to set this right. I don’t care what it is. I owe you this. I’m just paying you back for all the times you’ve saved me. I still have a lot of paying back to do.”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “You owe me nothing. You’re doing something for me that I can never repay YOU for. I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know what would have happened…” He stopped himself, apparently not sure how to continue. Then he turned his hands in hers gave her a squeeze but then did something she hadn’t ever anticipated. He brought her hands to his lips and gave her the gentlest kiss on her knuckles, all the while watching her carefully. 

Had Rose had a chance to prepare she may have reacted differently or at least more appropriately. Instead her jaw dropped and she froze, causing him to untwine her fingers from hers and drop his hands to his lap, looking away.

“We… we should get going. We don’t know where he is,” the Doctor stammered. 

Still stunned, Rose stood and walked stiffly to the back of the chair. Outwardly she was silent and stoic, but inside she was on fire. Her mind was exploding like a thousand fireworks and every cell in her body was wiggling, no dancing. Each step she took pushing him along the hall was like floating. All the pain she had from her exhaustion and bruises dissipated in a second. He had kissed her hands. The only problem was that Rose had absolutely no means by which to metabolize what had just transpired. There was no basis for understanding it. He had never done anything like it before. 

But now pushing him along she realized her grave error. Her not reacting was rejection to him. But she didn’t know what do, let alone what to say. Intelligent thought had left, replaced by confusing bliss. She just kept pushing him to the console room, as if on autopilot. She knew she needed to say something, but words were gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really like to thank you all for your wonderful words of encouragement. I have a horrific week ahead of me, so I may not get back to wrapping this up for a week. If, by chance, my week somehow gets better I'll finish this up. We are almost done with this ride though! We just need to get the Doctor back on his feet, get the intruder out and figure out what the heck is going on between the Doctor and Rose. On second thought, we have a long way to go (evil laughter in the background).

Reality dawned as Rose pushed the Doctor into the console room. A quick survey showed it to be empty, though there was a lingering smell of acrid smoke and it still was a bit hazy. They both coughed a little at first and Rose pulled her shirt up over her mouth to try to avoid the smell. Getting the Doctor up into the console room was tricky. She ended up swiveling him around and pulling him from behind up the ramps. When she finally got him up to the console he placed the big yellow box on it and immediately started flipping switches and turning knobs. Rose heard a fan activate and shortly thereafter the smoke started to lift. He hadn’t looked up at all at her or said anything since telling her they should be going. 

After the initial flurry of activity, he stilled as if thinking. He was like this for several seconds, gripping the sides of the console, making Rose wonder if maybe he was in pain. Then suddenly he looked up at her. His face was devoid of all emotion, though his eyes were soft. “I’m going to need you to gather a few things for me. I’ll make you a detailed list but you’ll have to move about in the TARDIS to various places to get them. I think I can figure out where our intruder is I can direct you, but you still have to be very careful. We still don’t know what he wants or what he is doing. I’ll give you a communicator, wait… I’ve got one…” He pulled a square radio looking device from somewhere on the console and handed it to her, carful that their hands didn’t touch.   
Rose took the offered device and turned it over in her hand thoughtfully. “The TARDIS is a big, maybe he’ll just fall off a cliff or something.”  
He gave her a bemused look. “That’s actually not too farfetched an idea. But the TARDIS is limited in what she can do now. She may have gotten him lost though, maybe surprised him with a little something, but it won’t be much.”

Rose clipped the communicator to her jeans. “How is she? I mean the TARDIS. Can you fix her?”

The Doctor started again madly flipping switches, grabbing onto the side of the console and pulling himself to different places around the controls. “We’ll see. I’m running some diagnostics now. Oh yeah, hold on a minute.” He pulled out some paper from somewhere she didn’t see and produced a pencil then began to write his instructions down. After a minute and some furious scratching he handed it to her. “Ok here you go. Lemme see,” he pulled himself to the monitor. “It looks like he’s not in this area right now.” He looks to be maybe in the pool room? That’s strange. I think you’re safe for now, but listen carefully for me. OK?”

“OK,” she answered, taking the paper from him and glancing at it.

“Testing one, two, three!” The words came from her communicator. Making her jump. The Doctor was speaking into his own just feet away from her. She smiled, grabbed the little box and pressed the button to talk.

“Loud and clear!”

“You have the medicine timer?” He looked at her directly.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Ok let me synchronize it to my timer here so I can give myself the next shot.” He punched some keys on his keyboard. “There, all set. Hey, Rose? “

“Hm?” Suddenly her anxiety from before crashed back down. Was he going to say something else about the kiss?

“Let’s take back our ship,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, let’s,” she answered, breaking into a wide smile despite her lingering nerves. Rose turned to go, taking a deep breath to clear her head. 

Behind her the Doctor slowly wiped his face then rested his head on the edge of the console, also working to control his breathing.  
OoOoOo  
Rose headed off down the corridor to collect the things for the Doctor. Meanwhile he had grown quite adept at flinging himself in the chair around the console, checking this, disconnecting that, removing burned pieces. Surprisingly the console was not as bad as he had expected. She must have tried to defend herself from the blast, meaning she was able to detect it before the Doctor. It’s possible the TARDIS may have been able to put up a force field once the explosive was detected. It wouldn’t have surprised him at all. She was a living ship and any living thing’s first action is to save itself. He kept a wary eye on the monitor at all times. Keeping tabs on Rose and on the intruder. They were far enough apart at this moment that he felt confident that she could acquire what he needed.

He had forged a plan too; one that would allow them to capture the intruder without injuring him. Like a no-kill mouse trap of sorts. He had been contemplating the intruder for a while even in his sleep. He supposed that the man had wandered in, since he had not confronted them yet and asked for anything. He could have already done great damage though. The Doctor hoped that the TARDIS had been able to keep him out of critical areas. While he had been tinkering away on the console he had been working out the specifics of the device in another part of his brain.

Repairs were coming along swiftly, that is until he realized that major work needed to be completed under the console. This could be strenuous even when he could move normally. He blew out a frustrated breath. He assembled his tools and tossed them onto the floor. He had been working to ignore the pain in his lower body but he noticed an annoying twitch beginning in his upper legs.

“Great.” he thought. The last thing he needed was more muscle spasms. He surveyed his setup on the floor and with a deep breath slowly began to rip off the tape from the chair wheels that had attached his feet to the chair. He set each foot on the floor then began to peel the tape off from around his body while keeping one hand securely on the console for stability. When his abdomen was free of tape, he could feel his body start to sag. The chair also started to roll due to his sifting weight. Panic welled up inside of him, he was starting to fall. Before he could though, he decided on the proactive approach and flung himself down with a crash.

“Oof!” He landed mostly on his stomach. Pain surged through his legs, back and abdomen. He laid there breathing heavily for a minute. Slowly the pain began to subside. Pain had to be a good sign right? That meant things were waking up. 

When his body settled down, he pushed his fingers through the holes in the grating and dragged himself towards his destination. Slowly he made his way, his legs occasionally shaking or spasming. Ignoring them was getting increasingly difficult. Finally, with great effort he pulled himself into place and got to work removing the panel and reaching in. 

The Doctor had managed to pull himself into a relatively good spot under the console. He was even able to rummage around and find some pieces he needed to make the capturing device he was going to use on the intruder. He had been making great strides in his repair work too when, “Beep Beep!...Beep… Beep!” It took few seconds to register what the noise was, but then he realized that he had completely lost track of time and he needed to inject himself again.

“Doctor? Doctor? It’s time for your shot!” Rose’s voice rang out of the communicator. “Are you there?” 

Dragging himself out required some odd and painful moves on his part, folding himself in awkward positions to be able to get handholds. Anyone observing would have been alarmed to hear the ruckus he caused. There were yelps of pain as well as crashing of various instruments. Finally, he was able to get a hand on the console and felt around for the communicator. Out of breath, he answered, “I’m here, I’m getting the shot.”

“Do I need to come back? I’m almost done.”

“No keep going.”

“Hurry, you have thirty seconds.”

He groaned and reached out his hand for the yellow box but fell just short. His legs were shaking again and it made it hard to get a good grip. He took a second or two to recover then lurched again for the box. This time however he sprung up and was able to grab it and pull it down next to him. Was it a well-placed muscle spasm the afforded the extra push? He didn’t allow himself the time to contemplate as he opened the box, prepped the shot and jammed it into his upper arm on his opposite side. He let the used syringe fall to the floor as he braced for the oncoming reaction.

This time there were no seizures or muscle contractions. This time it was as if someone had dipped the lower half of his body in molten lava. He even looked down to check to see if he was physically on fire. The burning sensation was excruciating. He cried out repeatedly in pain and anguish. With no control, he writhed around trying to catch his breath. When it subsided a little, he found himself below the monitor. He glanced up for a second then squinted at the display. The blinking icon that was Rose was getting alarmingly close to the blue blinking icon of the intruder.

“Rose,” he gasped. He needed to warn her. The communicator had mercifully fallen down but it was at his feet and he was struggling to put the thoughts together to get it. Drawing ragged breaths, he grunted and lunged again, this time aiming to spin his body around. His abdominal muscles behaved somewhat and aided him in his uncoordinated yet effective technique.

“Rose!” he rasped, while pushing the button on the communicator. “Go into the library! It should be…” he craned his neck to see the monitor, “On your left! LOCK THE DOOR!”  
OoOoO

Rose had her hands full of things the Doctor needed. She was trying to juggle them and also look at the list to see that she had it all. Just then the man came around the corner about twenty meteres away. 

“Hey!” he said. “What is this, where am I? Can you come here?”

Rose took a step back, at the same time her communicator went off, she could hear the Doctor yelling something about the library. She had backed into something, a door, and fumbled to get a hand free to reach for the door knob. She felt a wash of relief as the door clicked and opened and she stumbled in. She dropped the stuff as carefully and quickly as she could and went to shut the door. She could hear him calling to her. “Hey, I just want to talk! COME HERE!” His shadow crossed the doorway and she slammed the door, right on his fingers. He let out a long yell followed by a string of curses. She opened the door a bit and he retracted his hand, screaming. She took the opportunity and slammed the door again and locked it.

The Doctor stared at his communicator. There was silence on the other end. He watched the monitor; eyes glued to her the red blinking Rose. It showed that she made it in, just as the blue blinking intruder got to the door. It looked like the lights were on top of each other for a moment then she was in the room and he ran down another hall. He blew out a sigh of relief and crumpled the remaining way back to the floor. The burning in his legs had subsided and now was an annoying tingle. He watched as his feet twitched up and down like they had a mind of their own. I marveled a bit on how he got in this particular position. Did his abdominal muscles really contract? He tried to duplicate this now with no results.

The communicator crackled to life. “Doctor, are you there? I’m safe in the library. What happened, did you get the shot?”

Just hearing her voice brought a smile to his face. “Hello. I’m alright. Yes, the intruder was near you but you should be safe now. He headed down another corridor so you can run back to me.”

She came back mirth obvious in her voice, ”Aye aye cap’n. I’m on my way.”

“Did you see him?”

“Yup and now he’s not entirely happy with me.”

OoOoOo  
The Doctor reset the timer once more. There was one dose left. He had thought that perhaps he would be further along by now. He lay semi-sprawled on the floor watching his feet twitch. His legs still burned a bit, and his abdominal muscles contacted and relaxed without rhyme or reason. He marveled at this a little. He was in a unique situation. This was one of the very few times that he barely missed regeneration. If he had bled more and Rose had not been there to stop it, it would have happened for sure.

He rolled over on his stomach and pulled himself back up to the console. His legs were able to help him a little; mainly they seemed to squirm and therefore did not make for dead weight. He buried himself back under the console for a while then had to drag himself out again. He was satisfied about his progress with the TARDIS controls. There would be some parts to replace when they could get moving again, but a bit of creative piloting should allow him to work around the broken pieces for now.

Flopping on his belly again he went to work on the containment device. He was deep in thought and muttering to himself when he heard footsteps behind him. A feeling of dread sat deep in his stomach. It suddenly occurred to him just how vulnerable he was right now. He raised his head slowly. 

Familiar trainers came into view.

“Well hello there, you certainly look comfy.” She had her arms laden with supplies.

“Oh good, you’re here. Is everything alright? What happened?”

Rose smiled; he seemed to have gotten over his funk. “Well, I saw him again, smashed his fingers in the library door and he ran away.”

“That’s brilliant Rose Tyler. And you’re brilliant.” He beamed up at her.

Rose smiled back, it was good to have him back with her. At that moment, he didn’t look as tired or pained. But he was still on the ground. Mayne things hadn’t come along as far as she thought. “I got everything you needed, I think. Can I help?” She made to set all the stuff on the console, but he gave her a look and then glanced to his workspace on the floor, wordlessly indicating that he couldn’t stand to work at the console.

“Oh yeah, sure.” she knelt down and placed the items within his reach. “So ahh, any progress?” she motioned to his legs.

“Um yeah, they burn like crazy and jump around, I have some sensation on and off but it’s random as of now. But I have one shot left, so we’ll see, fingers crossed.” With that he started tinkering on a small box he had in his hand.

Rose sat on the jump seat, getting up to assist whenever something was out of reach. She loved watching him work. He kept up a never ending monolog that she jokingly referred to as verbal waterfall. She smiled to herself. Even though he was broken he was returning to the man she knew and loved. Now if that broken bit would start to work correctly again. She also kept a wary eye on the monitor. The intruder was stationary for now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely comments! How about some closure on "the man"? After this we have one more chapter, I think. I may role it and my anticipated epilogue all into one. But I want to spice it up. It probably won't go to "M" but maybe strong "T". We'll see where the bunnies take me. They have been known to hijack my entire train of thought, derail it and teach it to dance. We'll see. But for now, here's chapter 8.

The man stared down at his hands, uttering a string of curses. That blonde girl had broken his fucking fingers. Angry didn’t even begin to describe how he felt. That bitch had no right to hurt him. All he had wanted to do was talk to her maybe more, depending on what she was into. But it didn’t look like was an option now. 

But this place, it was something else. Besides the psycho girl running around, of course. It went on and on and now he had seen some of the things it had to offer. That was, after he got out of the pool and rung out his clothes. 

He liked it there. It had endless possibilities. And now that he was there, maybe he could take a few souvenirs. There must be some things in here that others would be interested in, maybe some gold, gems or metals to sell. There had to be weapons too, maybe even next level stuff. If he could figure out what was what, he could make a huge profit. He just had to get past the girl and the man. Ultimately, they probably wouldn’t be much of an issue though. If the girl wasn’t going to play nice with him then he would have to remove her from the equation. It shouldn’t be hard. And the man? Well, something was wrong with him. He was sick or broken or something, so taking him out wouldn’t be a problem either. Maybe he could get his crew in here too to help clear it out and they could have some fun in the process. 

Hissing, he pulled on each of the broken fingers to straighten them. He had new resolve now. There was a lot to do here. There was also a lot to gain. But he had to get past the two barriers, then he could get what he wanted. He got to his feet to take care of the problems so he could collect his prize.   
OoOoO  
“He’s moving again, Doctor.” Rose now stood at the monitor. “He is moving in and out of rooms. What is he doing?”

“He’s probably looking for things to steal or weapons. None the less he needs to be stopped. The TARDIS is still very weak. She is having trouble keeping him out of all the rooms. She’s trying to repair herself too. We need to get him out so she can concentrate.” He shifted his focus to what he was working on for a moment. “Alright, done!” He pushed a button on the box in his hand and tossed it at Rose’s feet. She was enveloped in a red light that went several feet above her head. She looked alarmed and put her hands up to the red walls around her.

“Oh, they sting!” she said jumping back a little. Her words were muffled somewhat. The Doctor pulled himself over on his belly to the little box and clicked it again. The red light went away.

“See? It’s just containment. The beam stings a little if you touch it and you can’t get through it, but it is overall harmless. I have a feeling our intruder won’t go down without a fight, and I really don’t feel up to a fight, so this is the next best option. We can lift the box and basically pull him out the door nice and clean. Now all we have to do is-”

“BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!”

“Here we go again.” he frowned. 

OoOoO

He could hear voices. One of them was muffled a bit. He peeked around the corner but could only see the blonde. He could hear the man but not see him. The blonde had some weird red light around her then it was gone. Then there was a loud beeping, and she got distracted with something. Now was his chance, he could sneak up, grab her and take her down. Or maybe she would decide to show him around in order to not get hurt. It was always easier to figure out what you wanted when you had a guide. If she was scared she would tell him anything. The man didn’t seem like much of a threat. He would take her first, then finish him.   
OoOoO

Rose was kneeling by the Doctor as he lay on the floor and she prepared to administer the last shot, concentrating on him. The Doctor heard a noise and looked up in horror at the man standing behind her. The Doctor barely could utter a sound before the man grabbed her and pulled her back, Rose gasped and dropped of the syringe sending it skittering across the grating.

“Now I’m not going to hurt you, little lady, I just want to talk,” he growled in her ear, releasing horrific bad breath that swept across her face. 

Rose struggled against him, only to find that he had her arms held behind her. 

The Doctor had scrambled around and was reaching for her. “Let her go!” he yelled.

The man just slowly shook his head while walking backward with Rose. 

Rose met the Doctor’s eyes as she was pulled away, arms trapped. “Take the shot,” she said, trying to look as convincing as possible. She was more than aware of the double-edged sword they had before them. On one hand if he did take the shot he would be out of commission for who knows how long. On the other hand, if he didn’t take the shot he could stay paralyzed forever. In her mind, he had to take it. He couldn’t help her now, only able to drag himself along.

The Doctor must have been mirroring her feelings. The same doubt played across his face. He looked from her back to the shot and to her again. His face had gotten red as he slid from fright to anger then to rage. He rolled over to search for the syringe and the man took this opportunity to drag Rose away from the console and towards the hallway.

“Rose!” the Doctor bellowed.

“I’ll be ok, just do it, now!” Rose called back, “You only have a few seconds! I’ll be ok.”

He found the syringe; it was just out of reach. He lunged for it, surprising himself with how quickly he made it. Not bothering to prep the area, he jammed it into his arm and pushed down the plunger.

OoOoOoxt  
Rose was being pulled back towards the hallway. She could hear clattering of tools on the floor behind the console. She closed her eyes praying the Doctor wasn’t having another seizure.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but it’s your choice,” the man was saying, “my name is Joe. You can play nice and show me around or I can take you down and find what I want by myself. You decide, this can be easy or hard.” His breath smelt of old cigarettes and rotten teeth, making Rose cringe. He had her in a bear hug and was still walking backwards. Rose initially panicked; the situation was overwhelming but knew she had to pull herself together. The Doctor needed her. She also severely doubted that Joe wouldn’t hurt her

A plan quickly formed. As he was stepping back she saw her opportunity and slammed her foot down on top of his with all her might. He howled in pain and loosened his grip slightly. She slid down so she could move her arms more and elbowed him squarely in the ribs. He let out his breath in a huge puff. She moved quickly, though just as she thought she was out of his grasp, he grabbed her elbow and tugged her back. He wrenched her arms behind her again and growled in her ear. “That’s enough…Rose. I guess you’ve chosen how you want this to go.” His use of her name made her stomach turn.

On the other side of the console, out of sight, the Doctor was struggling. His legs were kicking wildly and abdominal spasms had doubled him over. He knew he needed to help Rose. That man had her now and it was time he joined the fight. He willed his legs to calm and the spasms to stop so he could move. Finally, after 34 seconds (by his internal clock) his muscles started to relax. He grabbed his sonic and the containment device and reached up to set them on the console. Next, he grabbed the console edge with both hands and pulled with everything he had, eventually rising to his knees. Almost all his weight was on his arms now but his abdominals seemed to maybe be holding steady for now. With another great heave, he started to straighten his legs and begin to stand. It was more like a crouch really, but getting closer. Then, just as he was starting to straighten up, his legs began to twitch violently and he lost his grip, crashing to the floor again.

He cursed under his breath. The man thought he was out of the picture, the element of surprise was on his side, but nothing was cooperating. He slammed his hand down on the grating in frustration. He could hear Rose struggling, the sounds of it tearing at his hearts. He reached up once more, grabbing the console again.

Joe was on the move pulling Rose along. She resisted every step. She was certainly not going to go easily. They had almost reached the hallway when Joe stopped, raising his head to look back to the center of the room. Rose looked up too.

There, behind the console, standing on his own, was the Doctor. He held the sonic in his left hand and the containment device in his right. Rose felt a wash of relief. 

She honestly thought he may never stand again.

Joe stammered, “Hey I thought you were a cripple!”

“That is not a nice word.” The Doctor retorted, his face was tense and his words were strained. Rose felt Joe’s grip unclench a bit with his shock. Seeing her opening, she turned her head and bit him hard on the arm.

“OWWW!” Joe dropped her other arm and Rose kicked out, landing the blow to his knee. She broke free and scrambled onto the ramp back towards the Doctor, who at that moment activated the device and threw it at Joe’s feet. Joe was instantly enveloped in the red glow of containment.

With a glance back to make sure it worked, Rose stood and ran now, to him. Just as she got onto the landing and was a couple of feet away he turned and looked at her gratefully, started to reach out to take her hand but instead crumpled to the floor.

“Doctor!” she ran to him. “Are you OK?”

“Well my pride, what little I had left of it, was wounded for sure, but I’m OK. Can you help me up though? I might be able to make it to the jump seat if you give me a hand.” She helped him straighten himself out and pull himself close to the seat. His legs helped push him along. She then hugged him around the middle and heaved him up. He grabbed the back of the seat and swung himself up onto it, gripping it tightly.

“That was easier than I thought.” she said, still a little out of breath.

“Yeah I can push a little now so you didn’t have to lift all of me. I’m heavier than I look.” He grinned again at her. This time she had a chance to return the expression.

Joe was howling and cursing across the room. The Doctor looked over and pointed to him. “Well someone must have figured out that the walls sting. You can just lift the box and it will maintain the field while you lead him out. Then just push the button and it will dissolve. Make sure you’re far enough away though. I don’t want him grabbing you again.”

“Yeah, let’s avoid that again shall we?” Rose went over to Joe and picked up the containment device. She then started walking towards the TARDIS door. The red walls shifted to follow her and Joe yelled “OW HEY!” as the back wall stung him again.

“Better keep moving then, Joe.” She led him outside, him limping and grousing the whole way. The Doctor watched the little parade from his perch on the jump seat with amusement. Rose opened the door and disappeared for a moment. He heard her yell, “Get Lost!” and then she appeared back through the door, shutting it behind her. She caught his gaze and smiled brilliantly.

Rose skipped up the ramps to join the Doctor. She loved this part. He opened his arms widely and took her into a warm hug. He was still sitting, but this hug felt otherwise different. He held her a little closer, his head very close to her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck and he seemed to linger there. 

Rose?” he said after a few moments, gently pushing her back. “Can you help me again?”

She looked up at him hopefully. “Anything.”

“I think I can maybe try to walk a little now, with your help. Though holding you here in the console room is nice, I suddenly realized that I’m very hungry. You must be too.”

“Famished.” It was not lost on Rose that he said ‘holding’ rather than ‘hugging’.

Rose now stood back as he slid off the seat onto his feet. She hovered closely as he tested his strength. First one step, a very shaky one, then another and he was at the console. He leaned heavily on her but he made it. He rested there for a minute. Then she helped him around it so he could be sure there was an adequate force field and perception filter in place.

Finally, she helped him towards the library, where he would be the more comfortable than in the galley. They walked side by side, her arm around his waist and his around her shoulders. One step at a time, slow but increasingly steady. Just as he reached the hallway he faltered a bit.

“I can tape you back in the chair if you like,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. 

He had placed one of his hands on the wall for support, his other arm still around her shoulders. “Not on your life, you had WAY too much fun with that.” Even through his pain and fatigue he managed to smile at her again.

“Oh, I don’t know. I could probably take you in a fight right now.”

“You may be surprised Rose Tyler.” he winked at her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here is the final chapter. Since this is a re-write and I have evolved, so has this fic. So...... yeah I wrote some smut. It's mild compared to what is out there, but it's there. So, I changed the rating. I'm still relatively new to writing smut, so please be kind. I was a little unhappy with the ending, so I decided to add a little spice. If you want to skip it, stop at the place after Rose kisses. You'll find it. Then skip to the last paragraph. 
> 
> Thank you for all your kind words and kudos. It means the world to me that you like what I am putting out there. I have one fic in the can that I just need to edit and one that I am 90% done writing. The first is a Ten and Rose adventure and the second is a Nine and Rose AU. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I'll see you all in a few weeks.

Rose helped the Doctor walk all the way to the library. He seemed to get stronger with each step but his balance was still off. She almost lost him a couple of times as he would pitch this way or that. They both were relieved when they made it to their destination. 

She led him to the couch and helped lower him down. The pain he had been able to mask before came back in force and he scrunched up his eyes and hissed. 

Rose let him recover for a minute before asking, “Food yeah?”

“Yeah.” He had calmed. He sat with his eyes closed and his head against the back of the couch.

Rose promptly left to prepare food. She could tell that Joe had been in there, things were out of place and there was trash on the floor. But she was on a mission now. If the TARDIS didn’t clean up from his mess she would get to work on it later. She picked up a little anyway just to allow the TARDIS to work on fixing herself.

Rose went about her work of making their food quickly, but soon found her exhaustion was creeping in again. She found it hard to concentrate on the task at hand and soon found her mind wandering. She thought about the accident, her treatment of him, how shocked she was to find out he had been paralyzed. Then her thoughts went to sleeping in the bed with him and waking up holding onto him. The next thought was of their argument when taking him into the console room. She froze. She had all but forgotten that he had kissed her hands and she had… well, completely ignored him. Things had been so busy after that, they had never come back to it. 

Now alone, Rose had a moment to search her feelings. The Doctor’s behavior had been a shock, no question, but not without cause. They had been getting closer. He doted on her all the time. Maybe this accident was the catalyst he needed to see her for what she was. Or maybe he was just catching up to where he had been for a while now. Whatever the event, she couldn’t leave it be now. This was something they needed to discuss. It had happened and they needed to clear the air. 

Rose huffed. Watch his actions had been a side effect of his medicine and he wouldn’t remember a thing. Could affection be a side effect? Well it was alien medication, maybe it would have alien effects. With that thought still resonating, Rose finished preparing the food and set it on a tray. 

She returned a few minutes later. The Doctor hadn’t moved and was breathing slowly and evenly while his head still rested back on the couch. She set the food tray down gently on the table in front of them and then sat on the far end of the couch so as not to wake him. Maybe now was not the time to talk. But as she adjusted herself, his eyes popped open.

“Oh, I thought you had fallen asleep.”

“No,” his voice was low but not strained anymore. He looked at the food in front of him. She had brought finger sandwiches and electrolyte drink. “Finger sandwiches, we’re working on a theme here.” He frowned at her. “You’re not going to feed me again? That was fun.”

“I don’t know. Do you want to get injured again?” she threatened with a grin.

“Well that was an interesting day.” He snagged a sandwich and talked to her while chewing.

“It certainly started out better than it ended.” She scooted a little closer to reach for her own sandwich. “You did great; I can’t believe how bad you were wounded and how far you came back. I was really scared for you. And of course, not bad for a man in his jim jams!”

He laughed at the reference. “We seem to be making a habit of you having to change my clothes.” His expression became serious. “You know, I’m not the only one who gets injured when we find trouble.” He reached out and rubbed the scar he had found earlier on her upper arm before they had left for the village. It seemed so long ago.

Rose put her hand on top of his for a moment. “I will never be as strong as you.”

He scoffed, “Rose, you were magnificent. Remember I told you that you just needed the right set of circumstances? I never would have survived without you. You know that if you hadn’t been so good I may have even left before getting the chance to regenerate. Even if I hadn’t I never would have been able to heal properly. You saved me. That’s all there is to it. You were the strong one today.”

Rose blushed. She didn’t quite know what to say. He was staring at her so intently. She opted to deflect. “So, what about you? Is this it, or will you continue to improve?”

 

He inhaled deeply through his nose, as if he wasn’t done with his original topic. “Yeah I’m getting better. The nerves will still be growing back together for a day or so. I think I will be weak for at least that long. All I need is time now; and your superior domestic skills of course. A little kip won’t be bad either.” He put his last bit of sandwich in his mouth and rested his head back again, closing his eyes.

Rose got up and fetched a blanket to cover him. He hummed at the warmth. She got the remote from the table, started a movie with low volume and returned to her spot on the end of the couch. When she glanced back at him, he had one eye open and fixed on her.

“You don’t have to sit so far away,” he said, just above a whisper.

“I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“Well yeah, but it’s OK for you to get closer. You won’t hurt me, and besides I know how much you like to cuddle.”

“WHAT? YOU WERE AWAKE WHEN I WAS…I THOUGHT YOU WERE…” Her face grew instantly red.

He laughed then grew silent. ‘Um, Rose?”

“Yeah?”

I have a question but I only want you to answer if you want to. No pressure.”

Rose began to chew on her thumbnail. “OK.”

In the hallway before, on the way to the console room-“

Rose froze, she knew what was next.

“-did I scare you?”

Rose would almost picture the huge elephant entering the room and having a seat between them. 

She took a breath. “You mean when you… kissed my hands?”

“Yeah,” he ran his fingers through his hair grimaced at how dirty his hair was then looked back at her. “Don’t worry, you needn’t reply. I was just feeling at that moment that I needed to show my gratitude. I didn’t mean to scare you off. We’re-“

“Not like that?” she finished. 

He sighed deeply. “Yeah.” His eyes had migrated to the floor. Then he mumbled, “But I wouldn’t mind terribly if we were.”

“We were… like that?”

“Yeah.” He took a sudden deep breath startling her. “But here we are, me getting better and you probably wanting another adventure or maybe a pleasure planet?” He perked up and sat up straighter. “Oh, there is this one planet that the entire surface is bouncy! Oh yeah, really bouncy, and you can actually bounce all the way across the town. Oh, and they have a wonderful restaurant in the sky! Oh, you would love it. We’ll go as soon as I’m back 100%, we may even go when I’m 90% and that will be very soon. Maybe even tomorrow. We’ll go and have fun, just like real mates. Well… not mates, but friends. And you can go to the spa there. It’s the best, unless you are allergic to loozaberry. You aren’t, are you Rose? Because if you are, allergic that is-“

Rose couldn’t take it anymore she launched herself across the couch, her lips landing on his. She took his cheeks in her hands and held him tight. Rose kissed him hard, trying her best but she stopped and pulled back after a moment. He wasn’t kissing back. 

Now Rose had him at arm’s length. Her arms began to shake. She slowly started to retreat as a smirk crept across the Doctor’s face. Her expression shifted from sadness to confusion. The Doctor reached out for her, managing to grab her by the shirt and pull her back to him. This time he did kiss, hard. They both did. Tongues found each other and hands moved and caressed. Periodically Rose had to come up for breath, but not for long. All the time spent together, all the adventures, all the missed cues, all the hugging and closeness finally culminated in this experience. 

Soon Rose found herself swinging her leg over him and straddling him, to a satisfied groan from him. She smiled against his lips. He encouraged her, holding her the hips and giving pressure down.

Rose stopped momentarily to breathe. “So, is this us now?”

He was a little out of breath too. “If you’d like it to be.”

“Is this just a snogging thing or maybe more?” she asked, nerves creeping in.

The Doctor moved to scratch the back of his head. “I’m willing to go as far as you are. It has recently come to my attention that you’re all in as far as willing to give everything. I’m OK with that translating to our relationship. That being said, I want you to be able to go as far as you want. You can drive on this one.”

“Ok, I have a few logistical questions.”

The Doctor laughed out loud. “Like if I have tentacles?”

Rose blushed. “Um yeah, I suppose.”

“Nope, my anatomy is very similar to that of human males. I may be a little erm… bigger, but it’s basically the same. 

“So, I’ll be, I don’t know, safe?”

“Very.”

Rose blew out a breath in relief. Then asked, “Is it all working? I mean after the accident?”

The Doctor pulled Rose close again and pushed her hips down in the area of his groin. “I don’t know for sure. Would you like to test it? It’s totally up to you. No pressure from me.”

Rose gave an experimental wiggle, only to see his head go back and an expression of pure pleasure slide onto his face.

“I’d say it may be working. But, if we do, can I hurt you? I mean after your injuries.” 

“Nothing could hurt me now, Rose Tyler.” He opened his eyes again, his hand coming up to cup her breast through her shirt. 

“Next question, what about protection?”

“I have been tested for everything in the universe, literally. I’m clean. Plus, it’s been… a really long time.” He coughed. “Also, you take birth control, right?”

“Yes.”

“So even if we are somehow compatible as far as ‘reproductionally’, we’re safe. Any more questions?”

She bit her lip and nodded slowly. “Slow or fast?”

The Doctor growled and ground her down again. Rose could feel a change already. She was ready too, she actually had been for a while now. He smiled again. “I’d like it slow but I think fast is in order, then slow. I have minimal recovery time.”

“Sounds good to me,” she replied, pulling off her shirt. The Doctor had a sharp intake of air, followed by a flurry of activity as he undressed as quickly as he could. 

He was working on his pants, but struggling with lifting his hips when Rose approached. She was now divested of all her clothes and he froze, taking her in. 

“May I help?” she asked. He nodded dumbly in return.

Rose knelt before him, he didn’t wear trainers since she had taken them off hours ago. But she assisted in lifting his hips and sliding his pajama bottoms and pants down in one go. She slid his clothing down his legs, eyes now glued to his impressive member that had just been freed.

With the bottoms and pants tossed to the side, Rose reached out, taking hold of him and giving an experimental pump. He hissed and quickly took her hand off him, holding it gently. “If we go there, I won’t get to the good part.” He guided her up again to sit on him, but now with nothing impeding either of them. 

Rose sat down slowly on him, adjusting to the girth. The Doctor stayed very still during his eyes trained on her. With each centimeter he had a harder time holding back. She was so warm and wet. It took all his restraint not to push in, but he wouldn’t do that to Rose. 

Rose was enjoying this immensely. His face changed for every little bit she took him in. There was little adjustment for her too. It had also been a while for her. But it was the most amazing sensation, him filling her up. She relished his reactions and couldn’t wait for the real fun to begin. 

Finally Rose succeeded in getting him all the way in, and looked deeply into his eyes. He was still wide eyed yet still. Rose gave him a preliminary little buck of her hips and he let out a little yelp. Slowly he began to move in kind, moving his hips as if savoring each moment. But very soon after he picked up the pace. In turn Rose would stop, then slowly begin again just teasing. 

The Doctor slid his hand slid between them, instantly finding the center of her pleasure. Rose cried out with the new stimulus and raised herself until he was nearly out, only to come crashing back down to his shout of pleasure. The Doctor’s rhythm then quickly became erratic, as did Rose’s. Together they felt the waves of the simultaneous orgasm build, only to be enveloped together in joined ecstasy. 

Rose went to get off, but the Doctor pulled her into a long, luxurious kiss. Then they separated. Rose climbed next to him on the couch and rested her head on his now sweaty chest and giggled.

The Doctor picked his head up and gazed quizzically at her. 

“Sorry, it’s just that last time I stuck my head on your chest, it stuck to the blood. We’ve had quite a day.”

“We certainly have. Can you maybe escort me to my bedroom where we can either repeat what we just did or we can sleep, either is good with me.”

Neither of them was clothed and neither seemed to care. Rose helped him up, happily finding that he was, though unsteady, able to mostly stand without assistance. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder but pulled her a little closer this time. It wasn’t as much for stability was it was for affection. Rose carefully led him to his bedroom. He wasn’t fast yet, but the walk was easier. He was holding his own better also. There was no question that things were working. Rose smirked to herself thinking about how she had discovered how other parts of him were in working order. 

Rose didn’t even bother to collect the clothes that were now strewn across the floor. They made it to his bed and it didn’t matter. After a much slower love making session in which they both got individual attention, they fell asleep in each other’s arms. 

In the morning they woke together, ready in more ways than one for the next adventure.


End file.
